It’s official: The Huntridge Theater will not become a second-hand store. At least not right now. The Las Vegas Planning Commission unanimously denied on Jan. 10 an application to turn the historic building into a used furniture store. The applicant, Cima Mizrachi, has 10 days to file an appeal with the Las Vegas City Council.

Mizrachi said the store would be more like an antique shop than a flea market. It would provide the owners, who are members of her family, with income to repair the dilapidated building.

“We need to make some sort of income,” she said. “Otherwise we can’t afford to do the improvements we intended to do.”

Neither neighbors nor commissioners bought it. Native and near-native Las Vegans love the Huntridge Theater, but it has fallen into tragic disrepair under the Mizrachis’ ownership — although, to be fair, the decline started before they bought it in 2002. Some members of the community consider the building’s disrepair to be an ongoing civic insult. They brought pictures of graffiti, rubble, broken windows and chinks in the stucco.

“[The Huntridge] unfortunately remains sort of a lingering, remaining punch in the nose for downtown redevelopment,” said Donald Hickey.

Cima’s brother Eli wanted to revive the Huntridge as a retail space in 2008, and gained widespread community support before the economy collapsed. Nothing ever came of it. Instead, the owners installed a furniture store and cell towers, both sanctioned by the city council. None of the promised improvements ever happened. The planning commissioners told Mizrachi no more permits would be approved until she fixes up the outside of the building. They decided turning the Huntridge into a second-hand store would just hasten its demise.

Several Mizrachi opponents speculated the family is holding the crumbling property until 2017, when a historic covenant expires that bars them from demolishing the theater. Mizrachi insisted that she loves the theater and wants to have it restored. But she needs money to do it. The state has already provided more than $1 million to keep the building standing.

While the commissioners discussed the project, they shared favorite memories of the Huntridge. It felt more like a eulogy than a celebration, as they despaired of ever finding the money to resurrect the stage.

“Our experience with Kiel Ranch shows us that if you ignore a building long enough, it will just fall apart,” said Commissioner Glenn Trowbridge. “I think that the continued neglect of the property, in five more quick years, it’ll just fall down.”

Outside the meeting, several people involved with efforts to save the Huntridge confronted Mizrachi about her family’s treatment of the building. The argument briefly turned into a shouting match before Mizrachi stormed out of the courtyard. It didn’t look a good beginning to any kind of dialogue.