Sunday, May 11, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Hearing brings Red Rock combatants together

Rhodes makes sure he has plenty of support at meeting

State Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, looks on Saturday as Jim Rhodes speaks during a hearing on a bill that would freeze zoning on land Rhodes owns near Red Rock Canyon. Photo by Amy Beth Bennett.

Hundreds of construction workers, real estate agents and others were part of a caravan developer Jim Rhodes organized Saturday in support of his development plans near scenic Red Rock Canyon.

They crowded onto six buses chartered by Rhodes, ate the breakfast he served in the parking lot, and put on T-shirts he handed out before they crammed into a legislative hearing on a proposal that would prevent Rhodes from building thousands of homes near Red Rock.

The special meeting of the Assembly Government Affairs Committee was so crowded that spectators filled three rooms at the state's Sawyer Building near downtown Las Vegas. The commotion delayed the start of the meeting for nearly an hour, and the Las Vegas Fire Department forced those standing to find a seat or leave the premises.

"This is a farce. A lot of money has been spent doing this," Clark County Commissioner Myrna Williams said of Rhodes' effort to bring supporters to the hearing. "This is an orchestrated event, but I am not sure how all these people were rounded up, with the T-shirts, the donuts and the coffee."

The nearly four-hour hearing was held to consider a bill backed by state Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, which would freeze zoning on Rhodes' 2,400 acres near Red Rock at one home on every two acres.

Rhodes, developer of Rhodes Ranch, wants to build up to 5,500 homes atop Blue Diamond Hill.

The committee didn't vote on Titus' bill, but is expected to make a decision early this week. The entire Assembly could consider the bill later in the week. Last month, the state Senate unanimously supported the proposal, and Titus said Gov. Kenny Guinn has expressed support for it.

The hearing culminated a weeklong public-relations blitz Rhodes launched in hopes of convincing Las Vegans to oppose the legislation and a similar county measure that is expected to be considered May 21.

Rhodes' representatives gave dozens of people tours of his acreage, and he paid for television, radio and newspaper ads, which stated that a housing development would be the best way to restore land that for decades has been used for mining.

Rhodes' attorney Steve Morris urged committee members to oppose the bill, saying the state shouldn't usurp the county's authority to make land-use decisions. He also said that the development won't negatively impact the Red Rock National Conservation Area.

"If this bill passes, we can't even talk to the Clark County Commission," Morris said. "They are the ones on the scene, if you will. They are the ones directly responsible to the public in Southern Nevada."

Titus, Williams, representatives of the Sierra Club, residents of Blue Diamond, near Red Rock, and other supporters of the legislation said it is necessary to protect views of the scenic area and to limit traffic and pollution in the area. They turned over to the committee petitions signed by nearly 11,000 people who support Titus' bill.

"The Red Rock National Conservation Area is a resource of national significance," Blue Diamond resident Pauline Van Betten told the committee. "Any degradation of this resource will have a lasting impact on the state and regional economy and the quality of life for all Las Vegas residents."