Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 17

Thursday, June 7, 197917 As lawsuit looms county officials ready Rancho San Rafael bonds Bv RODNRV Pnn WS Now that Washoe County voters have approved a bond to buy the Rancho San Rafael, county officials will begin issuing the bonds and setting up public hearings for the design of the park. But a threatened lawsuit by a IMnrth Lake Tnhno tirement System's five-year option agreement with the county states that the purchase cost will rise 15 percent a year until the county exercises its purchase clause. The county has until noon, Jan. 3, 19H0, to exercise its first-year purchase clause or see the ranch's cost rise to $9.7 million. County voters cast 18.518 "yes" votes to 11,499 "no" votes Tuesday to approve the $s) million bond.

"There is no immediate crush on doing that." Maclntyre said, referring to the bond issuance. "i would think we would want to move on that part within the next 30 to 40 days for sure," he added. County officials must first confer with their bond consulting firm of Burrows Smith and Co. of Salt Lake City, Maclntyre said. However, an official of the Nevada North Shore Property Owners Association an Incline Village-Crystal Bay group, said Friday the group would sue Washoe County if the bond was approved.

Roper Steele, association chairman, has maintained that North Lake Tahoe residents will not get any use out of the park because it is located in Reno. Prior to the election Steele had sought to have the North Lake Tahoe region excluded from the bond election and from contributing toward the park purchase and upkeep. Steele said Wednesday that the association's attorney and board of directors will meet Friday or Saturday to determine if the group should begin a law suit. "Our Intention is to move ahead unless our attorney has found something on the negative side," Steele said. Maclntyre, taking note of the group's stand, said, "The only hinderance that we could anticipate at this time (in Issuing the bonds) would be in the event of something, such as a legal action that was talked about or threatened last week.

"The other would be market conditions themselves. We would like to sell those bonds at a time when It is most favorable to us," he said. When asked if the group's lawsuit could prevent the bonds from being issued before the year was out, Maclntyre deferred the question to the county's legal counsel But, he added, "I think a lot of that will depend on the type of suit brought and the validity of It and whether they could be successful in getting an Injunction." Chan Griswold, comission legal counsel and deputy distrcit attorney, said that if a lawsuit is brought 'it will take a long time for the thing to be resolved but It wouldn't affect the price as long as it was resolved before Jan. 3, 110. "But that Is all pure speculation until they do something or if they do something," Griswold said.

Maclntyre said the matter of setting up public hearings to gather citizens' opinions on how the park should take shape may be brought before the Washoe County Commissioners within the next two to three commission meetings. Prior to the election, the Washoe County Parks and Recreation Department had developed a $1.7 million preliminary park plan for the ranch. The plans included equestrian trails, footpaths and a lake for fishermen and canoeists. IUU1U ielay the purchase and raise the ranch's Durchase cricp hv i cent. John Maclntyre, county manager, said Wednesday that the bonds should be issued before Dec.

31 or else tne county could face an additional 15 percent charge on top of the 415-acre ranch's current purchase price of $8.6 million. The state Public Employees Re Reno EvenlnjM3azette Embattled Harrah's tower encounters new foe: Reno's mayor-elect Bv DICK COOPER up, however. The city this week received a letter from the RPC saying that the plan it reviewed and the one approved by the council essentially were the same. Planning Commission spokesman Bryan Maclntyre said Wednesday that the 'planning agency has no objections to the tower addition. He said the RPC is satisfied that Harrah's plans to build no more than 12 stories of hotel rooms on top of an existing three-story building and two other stories one that will be used for about in a sea of legal controversy last week, will have to weather the scrutiny of the new council headed by Mrs.

Bennett, who dur ing her campaign steadfastly opposed expanding casinos while city services are overtaxed by new growth. The tower would add 240 hotel rooms to Harrah's existing facility. It also will require 24,210 gallons of daily sewer capacity. For that, Harrah's will be asking the new council to approve a complex "collateral plan" that would en able the casino to construct the tower before sewer capacity is available at the Reno Sparks Joint Treatment Plant. "I'm opposed to the sewer collateral idea," Mrs.

Bennett said in an interview Wednesday. "I'm sticking with my position ot not favoring casino expansion, and anything that would aid that, I would oppose." "If the new council turns down the sewer collateral plan, then, as I understand it, the whole thing would go down the drain," she added. The Harrah's tower was approved by the Reno City Council last week, but the legality of the action was questioned by a Regional Planning Commission attorney. The attorney maintained that the council acted on a proposal for a taller tower than was recommended by the Planning Commission and that the plan should have gone back to the planners for another public hearing. That controversy has cleared employees' lockers and another that is strictly "structural" and couldn't be converted to hotel rooms.

The one change in the tower plan approved by the council, an addition of 11 hotel rooms within the 12 stories, is not substantial enough to worry the RPC, Maclntyre said. The Reno City Council, though, will be asked by the city staff to clarify its approval of the Har-rah's tower in light of the recent confusion. The embattled Harrah's tower proposal appeared headed for more trouble Wednesday as Reno mayor-elect Barbara Bennett said she would oppose a "sewer collateral" plan for the casino expansion. The present Reno City Council will clarify its approval of the controversial hotel addition next Monday its last act before three new council members are sworn But the Harrah's project, tossed BRIDE'S GIFT SALE SAVE ON 12-PIECE SET FARBERWARE COOKWARE 94.99 Open stock value $169 Give her stainless steel for long-lasting beauty with aluminum-clad bottom for even heating. Includes: 1 2 qt, 3 qt.

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in the council chambers of Reno City Hall. The review committee also will study construction plans for a five-story, 150-room expansion of the Comstock Hotel-Casino, a proposed 100-room motel on Vine Street, the proposed 199-unit Bell Street Apartment Hotel and the proposed five-story Bonanza office building between Court and Island streets. The committee will make recommendations on the projects to the Planning Commission. Public hearings will be held in July. Reno councllmen accused Karadanis of "thumbing his nose" at the city when they rejected his proposed expansion of the Sundowner in April.

The council complained that Karadanis originally requested and won approval for office space in his hotel tower, with apparently no intention to use the floors for office space. Expansion plans call for nine floors, originally proposed as office space within the hotel tower addition currently under construction, to be switched over to hotel rooms. The expansion according to Sundowner figures would require 16,000 gallons of daily sewage treatment capacity and would employ 60 people. Nash, legal counsel for the Department of Regional Planning, said Wednesday that there is no waiting period for developers to re-submit plans after a City Council rejection. Five months before the council refusal, Karadanis apparently tried to convert the floors to hotel rooms on his own but was stopped when building inspectors ordered him to tear out bathroom fixtures installed for the unauthorized hotel rooms.

and architect Bill Morris say the conversion is a matter of "pure economics" and that with more than one million square feet of office space projected for the Truckee Meadows it is "logical" to convert to floors to hotel rooms. in April, Morris quoted a Greater Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce position paper stating there is a "real need" for more hotel rooms in the Truckee Meadows. He also complained that the City Council approved the Circus Circus hotel expansion and then turned around and rejected the Sundowner expansion. Morris had no comment on the new attempt to win major project review approval. Karadanis could not be reached for comment.

iThe Comstock expansion calls for construction of five more stories on its present Second Street tower. The additional 150 rooms would require 14,000 gallons of daily sewage treatment capacity. They would generate an additional 30 employees, according to development plans. three-story, 100-room Vine Street motel would require 10,000 gallons of daily sewage treatment capacity. Developers of the 11-story Bell Towers apartment-hotel say they will rent out units by the week rather than monthly.

Plans call for 79 studio units and 119 one-bedroom units. The structure would be built between West and Bell streets and include an eight-floor parking garage. The planning commission rejected the commercial portion of the complex two weeks ago. Sewage treatment requirements would be 26,315 gallons a day, according to plans. Major projects will no longer be judged on their Impact alone on the community, according to planning staff member Sheila O'Malley.

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