Ah, yes, there was indeed a big brouhaha last year surrounding the Wayner's desire to expand his ranch into a tourist attraction, with some local planning meetings turning pretty acrimonious.
While Newton's 28-acre Casa de Shenandoah ranch has long been home to an extensive managerie (horses, wallabies, penguins, sloths, etc.), car collection, and a defunct aircraft, among other things, it was the prospect of increased traffic and hoardes of "Wayniacs" descending from the Strip that had the neighbors up in arms (egged on by the more hysterical fringes, who raised fears of Ferris wheels and circus tents, which had never been mentioned as part of his plans).
The plans that Newton did put forward included the addition of a Las Vegas-themed museum and movie theater, proposed for a 10-acre parcel across the street, plus tours of his wildlife and other collections. Since the land earmarked for the museum was already zoned for business, and since the estate itself is a rural neighborhood preservation area, conducting tours only required an easily obtained special-use permit issued by the county, so it seemed the naysayers didn't have much of a leg to stand on.
And so proved to be the case when, on November 17, the Clark County Commission met to hear the testimony of Wayne Newton and his opponents. After 4 hours of listening to both sides, the Wayner finally won unanimous support from the commissioners to bring his plan to fruition.
"I couldn’t be more happy with the decision that the commission made. I am happy, too, that maybe some of the neighbors heard some of the truth about the project for the first time," commented a reportedly relieved Newton.
The new 10-acre entertainment complex is scheduled to be completed in about a year, bringing Newton's dream of an Entertainment Hall of Fame to life. The museum/showroom will apparently be filled with artifacts and mementos from Newton’s career, along with items from other entertainers who have some sort of connection to Las Vegas, including the Rat Pack, Nat King Cole, and Johnny Cash. Only the planned wedding pavilion was shelved from the original plan, as far as we know.
We understand that at the pivotal Nov. 17 meeting, Newton's wife Kathleen insisted on addressing those in attendance, against the advice of her legal counsel, to stress that no matter what, Casa de Shenandoah was and will remain first and foremost the Newton's family home, not some kind of fairground attraction.
