And crash #2! This time I loaded up a saved game (SV this time) and first thing it did was prompt me to add new venues (fire station, etc.) to the town. Since I didn't HAVE any open lots, I skipped em all. Went through the tutorial on placing the lots, and was about to go to Edit Town, and crash to desktop.
FYI: the new lots (fire station, junkyard, salon and consignment store) all go on 20x30 lots. Front of the salon faces the long side, the other three face the short side.