Friday, June 06, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

BLM LAND AUCTION: Sale raises growth issues

Officials fear strain on air, water, roads

Focus Property Group CEO John Ritter is congratulated after he won a $113.5 million bid for a 485-acre parcel of land in northwest Las Vegas during the BLM land auction Thursday at the Clark County Government Building. Photo by Amy Beth Bennett. Interior Secretary Gale Norton looks out over the Clark County Wetlands Park on Thursday as Jeff Harris, manager of Parks Planning, points out different aspects of the park. Photo by JOHN LOCHER/REVIEW-JOURNAL Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton said Thursday's auction would result in "smart growth." She praised bidders for "rolling the dice in favor of conservation with the money you spend today." Photo by Amy Beth Bennett.

Local officials are questioning whether the valley's resources and infrastructure can accommodate the growth that will accompany development on about 1,000 acres of federal land auctioned to builders Thursday.

U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton, who manages the country's water and land resources, attended the auction at the Clark County Government Center. She said local leaders identified the land sold Thursday and told federal agencies months ago that they have the resources to absorb it.

"We work closely with them and don't think it's our place to say, 'These are the limits of growth in the West,' " she said. Norton suggested that as those areas develop, water should be managed efficiently with an emphasis on conservation.

But local officials responsible for overseeing development said tax revenue for police, firefighters and public parks aren't keeping up with growth. Water supplies and air quality also could be threatened, they said.

Pat Mulroy, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said the release of large chunks of land for development will put an even greater strain on her agency, which is charged with supplying the valley with potable water.

"Right now, we're in the worst drought we've ever seen," she said. Mulroy said she hopes "Norton recognizes the demand she created" by releasing the land for auction and gives Nevada the opportunity to use additional Colorado River water, no matter what happens in other states.

Norton froze all access to surplus water from the Colorado River indefinitely this year when California agencies failed to agree on a 15-year plan to reduce the state's reliance on water from the river.

Nevada has been saving water for an extended drought. The water authority's strategy is to make up the lack of surplus through conservation measures aimed primarily at reducing the amount used for lawns and golf courses.

Much of the acreage sold Thursday is located within unincorporated Clark County, and its development will be dictated in part by county land-use policies and the decisions of the seven-member County Commission.

Commissioner Mark James, who represents portions of the fast-growing southwestern Las Vegas Valley, and Commissioner Myrna Williams, a member of the board of directors for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said they're concerned about the impact of growth on traffic, water, air quality, schools, parks and other resources and public services.

"I believe we are growing at a pace we cannot sustain," James said. "We need to make sure our resources are keeping up with our land-use approvals."

James said developers, environmentalists, elected officials and members of the public need to determine the quality of life the community wants and dictate development patterns consistent with the community's values.

If residents don't mind that a drive to work that once took 15 minutes now takes 45 minutes, or that the Las Vegas Valley has 10 days per year of bad air quality rather than just one bad day, then development patterns should be determined based on those types of considerations, James said.

Williams said maintaining the region's air quality and its water supply are the two most pressing growth issues.

John Hiatt, chairman of the Enterprise Town Board and a member of the Sierra Club, said Thursday's sale of raw land on the outskirts of the Las Vegas Valley could catch unprepared local government agencies by surprise.

The average residential density in many new outlying developments is 10 homes per acre, Hiatt said. That many homes that far from the community's employment center on the Strip will put strains on traffic and air quality and require that water be pumped farther from the urban core, he said.

"I have great concern with these parcels on the periphery," Hiatt said. "There are just great concerns with development. There is no water."

Curtis Miles, assistant general manager of the Regional Transportation Commission, said local roadways have been designed to accommodate some degree of growth, and that passage in November of a $2.7 billion transportation bond will help meet future demands on local highways.

But the two largest sales Thursday could pose traffic problems on state Route 160 in the southwest Las Vegas Valley and on U.S. Highway 95 near the entrance to Kyle Canyon north of Las Vegas, Miles said.

About five years ago, state highway officials said they planned to widen Blue Diamond Road, but they still haven't done so, even though hundreds of homes have taken root in the area since then.

The sale Thursday of a 247-acre parcel south of Route 160 could congest the road if a developer proposes a housing project with medium to high density, Miles said.

"Blue Diamond Road needs to be addressed, and, with that land sale, it could make the Blue Diamond Road situation more imperative," Miles said.

Carrie MacDougall, assistant director of the county's Air Quality Management Department, said the county's two plans for controlling air pollutants took into consideration the future development of the federal land sold Thursday.

"We would not issue our approval until we knew they (projects) could be developed and we could maintain our good air quality," MacDougall said.

Still, Norton said the auction would result in "smart growth," and she praised bidders for "rolling the dice in favor of conservation with the money you spend today."

The 1998 Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act allows local government agencies to use federal money from government land sales to acquire environmentally sensitive land from a willing seller.

The money also supports the creation of parks and recreational areas and funds infrastructure.

Norton said 72 percent of the proceeds of Thursday's auction will remain in Clark County. Ten percent will go directly to the water authority.

Norton also said that with money raised by the auction, the federal government has purchased more than 750 acres of private land for the Clark County Wetlands Park, which helps control erosion of the Las Vegas Wash and increases plant and wildlife diversity in the area.

Las Vegas City Councilman Michael Mack said a development agreement with Focus Commercial Development already is in place for a portion that sold Thursday for $112 million.

Mack said that before committing to the agreement, Las Vegas officials received assurances from the water authority that water would be available for new homes in that area.

"There's just such a demand for more developable land for homes," Mack said. "The more the feds sell, hopefully, we'll see the price of homes go down instead of up and make way for more entry-level homes."

Jack Finn, a spokesman for Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said the senator supports the land sale. As a congressman, Ensign sponsored the federal law that allowed Thursday's land sale.

"Considering a good portion of the proceeds go to the Southern Nevada Water Authority so they can create and develop new means of providing water to the area, we think it's a great tool," Finn said. "We think the water authority is doing a great job of addressing the valley's water needs so far, considering we built the fastest-growing city in the country in the middle of the desert."