Thursday, May 01, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Builder applies for clearances

Rhodes seeks to build homes near Red Rock

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Raising the stakes in the battle over a proposed development near Red Rock Canyon, builder Jim Rhodes late Wednesday applied for the clearances he needs to erect between 1,500 and 5,500 homes next to the scenic conservation area.

Rhodes submitted his applications as the state Legislature and the Clark County Commission consider laws to lock in rural zoning on the builder's 2,400 acres atop Blue Diamond Hill.

He filed the paperwork just two days after Nevada's U.S. senators proposed using funds from the sale of public lands to buy Rhodes' property and prevent the area from ever being developed.

With proposals to prevent his Hidden Hills project on all fronts, Rhodes has asked Clark County administrators to expedite his application.

Rhodes couldn't be reached for comment late Wednesday. But in a prepared statement, the developer said, "We now face rigid timelines being imposed by both the state and the county. Upon advice from my attorneys, I am doing what I need to protect my property rights, as any landowner would do."

But Rhodes might be too late. The County Commission and the Legislature are expected to vote on their proposals before he can get commission approval for his plans, state and county officials said.

State Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus said she expects Gov. Kenny Guinn will sign her Red Rock Canyon legislation by the end of the month.

"I think he (Guinn) will support it right away. Every time I have talked to him about it, he has expressed support for it," said Titus, D-Las Vegas.

Barbara Ginoulias, the county's assistant director of comprehensive planning, said it's highly unlikely the County Commission would consider Rhodes' land-use applications before commissioners take up the ordinance to restrict development on his property. That ordinance, if passed at the commission's May 21 meeting, would take effect June 4, Ginoulias said.

Rhodes is trying to circumvent the county's yearlong process for evaluating large-scale housing projects, Ginoulias said, and his applications aren't likely to be considered by the commission until July.

Rhodes filed the applications two days after Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Harry Reid, D-Nev., proposed the county use tens of millions of dollars from the sale of public lands in Southern Nevada to acquire and restore Rhodes' land and, eventually, include it as part of the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

Rhodes bought the land in March for $53.8 million. He is the second developer in a year to propose building thousands of homes on the site of the old Hardie Gypsum Mine, which overlooks Red Rock Canyon. The proposal by Reid and Ensign was aimed at ending months of public unrest over the prospect of development next to the scenic area.

However, the federal government prohibits the county from paying more than market value for the land, and Rhodes would have to agree with the sale price for the deal to go through.

One of Rhodes' applications filed Wednesday requests a change from the current zoning, which allows one home on every two acres, to zoning that would allow two homes on each acre.

The second application for the same 2,400-acre area requests a zoning designation of "Rural Open Land District," which doesn't require a zone change and would allow Rhodes to build one home on every two acres, Ginoulias said.

Ginoulias said Planning Department staff hadn't had a chance Wednesday to evaluate Rhodes' lengthy land-use applications since they were filed less than an hour before the county Government Center closed for the day.

The key question for county staff is whether Rhodes' applications are subject to the longer process used for housing projects of 700 or more acres, Ginoulias said.

Rhodes maintains that since he divided up his land into parcels of less than 700 acres for the purpose of applying for the land-use clearances, his applications are not subject to the longer process, Ginoulias said.

After meeting with the county's attorneys today or Friday, Planning Department administrators by the end of the week should determine whether Rhodes' applications will be processed using the yearlong process or a more timely set of procedures, Ginoulias said.

However, at the very least it's likely Rhodes will be required to schedule a pre-application conference with county planners before they will even accept the applications he submitted Wednesday, she said.

"They have not met the requirements for a pre-application conference. That is required before they make a submittal," Ginoulias said. "We have not officially accepted this as a final submittal."

Titus said that since the applications were filed too late to get approved before restrictions are placed on Rhodes' land, and since it's unlikely the commission will approve his land-use requests, she believes Rhodes filed the applications in preparation for a lawsuit against the county.

In his prepared statement, Rhodes blames Commissioner Mark James for delaying Rhodes' land-use applications to the county.

"We were prepared to develop applications several months ago," he said. "However, at the request of Clark County Commissioner Mark James, we have held off submitting any applications on this property, effectively losing four months in the zoning process."

Rhodes' attorney, Steve Morris, criticized Titus' bill in a prepared statement issued Wednesday.

"This legislation is unprecedented," he said. "It targets a single land owner, it usurps local government jurisdiction, it prevents due process, and it disregards the rights of property owners."