Planners OK tavern near residential area on Eastern Ave.

By Ashley Livingston

Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009 | 10:56 p.m.

A proposed tavern in the Silverado area is one step closer to fruition after a 4-3 vote for approval Tuesday by the Clark County Planning Commission.

The tavern, which is looking to move into a recently constructed strip mall in the northeast corner of Eastern Avenue and Windmill Lane, has drawn complaints from neighbors who say they don't want a gaming or alcohol-serving establishment so close to their homes. The location is within 50 feet of a residential area.

The Clark County Board of County Commissioners will have the final say when it consider the request during its March 4 meeting.

When that decision comes, it will have been nearly a year in the making.

Attorney Peggy Pound, who is serving as a consultant to the applicant, said she held her first neighborhood meeting regarding plans for the tavern in June 2008.

She said since that time, she has been working with neighbors to mitigate concerns about lighting, landscaping and the height of the wall separating the neighbors from the commercial property.

“We really have made an effort to do what needs to be done to make sure this is an addition that is positive to an intersection that is very busy,” she said.

However, some neighbors had concerns that could not be appeased by the alteration of physical attributes on the property.

Resident Bobbi Rollman said she took issue with the idea of alcohol and gaming being so near a residential street where children play.

“We’re talking about a residential neighborhood. We’re talking about kids, lots of kids, and you’re talking about putting in slot machines and alcohol right on the other side of the fence,” she said to the commissioners.

A number of the commissioners however, expressed approval of the applicant’s willingness to work with the neighbors to appease them where possible and those commissioners represented the majority when it came time for the vote.

Pound said a possible tenant of the proposed tavern, which will include a restaurant as well as a gaming area, is Dotty’s.