Garage project next to jet-fuel tanks at Las Vegas airport coming up for vote

A proposed airport parking garage that sparked safety and security concerns for aviation officials is coming before the Clark County Commission again.

The commission on Wednesday is scheduled to consider plans by developer American Nevada Co. for a six-story garage just north of Terminal 1 at Harry Reid International Airport.

The project site — which is owned by American Nevada and surrounded by county-owned property — is next to a cluster of large jet-fuel tanks.

Commissioners were previously slated to vote on the plans Oct. 8, but county staff requested to hold the item.

The meeting this week comes after a Clark County advisory board recently denied the application, and after Clark County firefighters responded Saturday to a report that jet fuel was spilling over the top of a tank at Reid International.

The spill did not cause any injuries or any disruption to flights or airport operations, Fire Chief Billy Samuels said in a news release. He noted that two Hazmat units were among the responders to the incident.

Samuels did not say in the release where exactly the spill occurred. Reid International has large fuel tanks west of the airfield, closer to Las Vegas Boulevard, in addition to the tanks next to the proposed garage site.

‘Routine’ item

The Paradise Town Advisory Board denied the garage proposal at its Oct. 28 meeting, county spokeswoman Stephanie Wheatley confirmed.

The county’s advisory boards consist of local volunteers who, at regular public meetings, provide input on various matters and pass along concerns to the County Commission.

For Wednesday’s commission meeting, the garage project is on the list of so-called routine action items, just as it was last month. Commissioners can approve those matters in one vote, without discussing individual items, although items can be pulled and heard separately.

County staff recommended approval of the garage, which has a lengthy list of preliminary staff conditions, including security measures.

The 3.8-acre project site currently has a building — occupied by airline-food supplier Sky Chefs — that would get demolished to clear space for the garage, plans show.

The new structure would have more than 2,200 standard parking stalls as well as solar panels over most of the top level, according to a county staff report, which said the garage would also be “shielded” on the side that borders the fuel tanks.

‘Direct line of sight’

The county’s Department of Aviation, which operates Reid International, contends that the garage’s design “presents numerous safety and security concerns” due to its proximity to the airport’s east side fuel tanks, according to a county staff report.

All told, the garage would provide an “elevated, direct line of sight” to large jet-fuel tanks and other secure areas of the airport, according to the aviation department.

Plus, the rooftop solar panels would be in “very close proximity” to runways, and glint or glare from lighting and reflective surfaces “can create a hazard” for pilots, the department said, as seen in the county staff report.

Wheatley said that while the department expressed concerns about the project, its conditions of approval “mitigated” these concerns, so it did not oppose the plans.

She also said that if a department or agency is not recommending denial of an application, the item is placed on the routine portion of the agenda. There are exceptions to this rule, she noted, including cannabis uses and plans that require a negotiated development agreement.

Among the preliminary conditions for the proposed garage: Before building permits are issued, the developer must submit plans to the aviation department for a barrier on the project site’s western edge, which borders the fuel tanks.

The barrier must include a “vehicle crash mitigation rail” that is designed to withstand a 15,000-pound vehicle at 50 mph, according to the county staff report.

American Nevada, launched in the 1970s by the late Las Vegas Sun publisher Hank Greenspun and his late wife, Barbara, is perhaps best-known for developing Henderson’s Green Valley master-planned community.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342.