Unless changes are made soon, the Ravenstahl administration will urge the planning commission to reject the proposed design of the North Shore casino and the massive parking garage to be built behind it, a top city official said yesterday.

Pat Ford, Urban Redevelopment Authority executive director, said Mayor Luke Ravenstahl wants to see changes to lessen the impact of the 3,800-space garage, nearly twice the height of the casino, before the planning commission considers the design this month.

He also wants developer Don Barden to build a green casino, a call the Detroit businessman has resisted because it would require him to ban smoking from the gambling floor or create designated smoking sections with separate ventilation.

Mr. Ford, co-chair of the gaming implementation task force appointed by the mayor and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato, said the administration has seen no evidence that Mr. Barden intends to make changes to address concerns about the casino design.

Both the task force and Mr. Ravenstahl fear the garage, which towers above the $450 million waterfront casino to be built west of the Carnegie Science Center, could detract from views of the skyline from Mount Washington, the West End, the Ohio River and the Fort Pitt Bridge.

"Currently it looks like a garage with an accessory use of a casino, as opposed to a casino with an accessory use of a garage," Mr. Ford said.

Mr. Ravenstahl also wants to see at least a portion of the casino designated as nonsmoking. Mr. Barden's casino likely would qualify for an environmentally friendly LEED certification if he banned smoking or created designated smoking areas with proper ventilation.

Unless Mr. Barden makes concessions before the casino design goes before the mayor-appointed planning commission later this month, the Ravenstahl administration will recommend against approval, Mr. Ford said.

"We only have one shot at this. We want to make sure we do it right. Whatever decision we make we're going to be living with it 50 years or more," he said.

"I'll say it and the mayor feels the same way, that the current design is unacceptable."

The casino architect has rejected changes recommended by the city's Contextual Design Advisory Panel as being too expensive. Mr. Barden has resisted calls to ban smoking on competitive grounds, unless the state Legislature acts to prohibit smoking in casinos statewide.

The casino, spokesman Bob Oltmanns said, has been talking to the city and others about the contested design issues and Mr. Barden "has said he intends to continue those discussions in the weeks ahead."

However, he refused to say whether Mr. Barden would make changes to the design to appease the mayor, the gaming task force, the Contextual Design Advisory Panel and others in the design community.

"We're not going to conduct this process in public. But we have continued to approach this with a willingness to listen," he said.

On the smoking issue, Mr. Oltmanns said the casino is still waiting to see what the Legislature decides. Two competing bills are before members. One would ban smoking from casinos. The other would keep 25 percent of a casino floor open to smoking.

The planning commission will get an update on the design at its meeting next Tuesday. A public hearing on the design is scheduled for Nov. 27, with a vote expected two weeks later.

Mr. Barden and his company, PITG Gaming LLC, have postponed two previous public hearings scheduled on the design because of the issues related to the size of the parking garage.

Mr. Ford said the city has worked hard to ensure that "first-class facilities" are developed on the North Shore. The administration, he said, is prepared to push for a quality design even if it means delaying the casino construction and, potentially, revenue from it.

"There's a greater public purpose here that we have to be clearly cognizant of. Whether we have to consider offsetting potential revenues to get a quality design, that's a public issue, that's a public purpose we have to be willing to take a position on," he said.

The mayor, he added, believes the public health, safety and welfare are best served by addressing the smoking issue and "getting a quality product that I believe will anchor one of the most valued waterfronts" in the country.

The dispute over the design appears to be the last obstacle standing between the casino and the start of construction. Last week, Mr. Barden reached a settlement with the Steelers and the Pirates over traffic-related issues.