Winchester advisory board approves signage, vacation and special-use permits for 620-foot non-gaming hotel project

The Winchester Town Advisory Board on Feb. 25 approved three related applications from CCD LLC for a two-phase, nongaming hotel and plaza south of the convention center, including sign design review, a public-right-of-way vacation and a special-use permit that would allow a 620-foot hotel tower and 604 rooms.

Levene Ohini, the applicant representative, summarized the project as a retooling of a prior approval and said the development would be phased so the 66,000-square-foot plaza could be built first and the 620-foot tower in a later phase. "It's non-gaming," Ohini said, adding that the current proposal reduces the previous room count from more than 720 to 604 and retains a previously approved 620-foot height that had FAA and county clearance in 2018.

The board approved the three agenda items — the sign design review (SDR250054305), the vacation (BS250055305) and the special-use permit (UC250053305) — by voice vote after motions to approve with staff conditions. Board member Chris Cooper made each motion and Brad Evans seconded; all three voting members present voted "aye." The approvals were explicitly conditioned on required studies, including traffic and drainage.

Why it matters: the site sits immediately south of the new convention center along Convention Center Drive and Debbie Reynolds Drive. Board members and nearby residents raised concerns about vehicle access, curb-to-sidewalk configuration, loading capacity, and potential noise from entertainment areas on a rooftop building. Those issues will be examined as part of the conditions of approval and the required traffic study.

Project details and waivers Levene Ohini told the board the full application package includes three linked elements: the sign design review (35 signs distributed across the site, including video screens and tower signage), a vacation request to reconfigure sidewalks to a detached design and a special-use permit under county code allowing the tower. The plaza is described as roughly 66,000 square feet with a rooftop event area over a garage; the hotel tower was described as roughly 40 stories, with 604 rooms.

Ohini described multiple code waivers requested for operational items: a modest exceedance of garage throat depth (project garage length cited at about 410 feet versus a 400-foot guideline), a reduced number of loading spaces (the team proposes five loading spaces), and partial reductions in electric-vehicle (EV) stall requirements. He said public-works staff typically recommends denial on roadway-related waivers and that the applicant expects the traffic study to support their engineering justifications.

Public comment and board response Nearby residents raised concerns about traffic volume on the narrow Debbie Reynolds Drive, construction impacts, access between adjacent properties, and whether retail spaces would generate additional local traffic. Judy Dietz, a resident at the Metropolis condominium on Debbie Reynolds and Desert Inn, said, "I'm concerned about the traffic on Debbie Reynolds with cars going in and out of the parking garage there. It's a very narrow road." Kevin Faro, representing nearby homeowners, asked whether an existing gated access between properties would be retained and whether retail spaces would be leased to third parties.

Ohini responded that the road segment is already paved, that the vacation application would formalize a detached sidewalk with landscaping, and that some cross-access or gate questions would require negotiation because the county treats residential and commercial uses as incompatible for cross-access under current code. He confirmed the developer expects to lease retail spaces and to secure hotel operators through management agreements.

Board action After public comment and applicant responses, Board member Chris Cooper moved to approve each application with staff conditions; Brad Evans seconded each motion and the board voted unanimously in favor. The motions were recorded as approvals "with staff conditions," with the staff report and required traffic and drainage studies listed as conditions.

Next steps Approvals are conditioned on the completion and acceptance of county-required studies (traffic, drainage) and on final engineering and permitting. Additional permits, landscaping plans and any required mitigation will be reviewed through the county process; the applicant indicated some design elements (for example, the plaza-first phasing and signage placements) are intended to be built in stages. The board set no additional local conditions beyond the staff recommendations on the record.

Ending The board closed the item after the three votes and moved to other routine business; the next Winchester Town Advisory Board meeting was scheduled for March 11, 2025.