Rhodes gets county support for swapping Red Rock land

Developer Jim Rhodes is on board.

Clark County commissioners and environmental activists are, too.

All that is left to end a decade of contention over 2,600 acres of land is to get the approval of the federal government.

Commissioners on Tuesday voted to support swapping Rhodes' property overlooking the Red Rock National Conservation Area with an equal, albeit less controversial, parcel.

Commissioner Susan Brager, who is spearheading the effort, said the next step is to enlist the support of Nevada's congressional delegation and approach the Bureau of Land Management with the idea.

She wants the deal done within a year.

"This is obviously the beginning of a process," she said.

The land on Blue Diamond Hill, overlooking one of Southern Nevada's natural wonders, has been fought over in the courts and the Legislature since Rhodes proposed turning it into a neighborhood in 2003. His latest pitch includes building 4,700 homes, a business park and retail areas.

Blue Diamond residents and Red Rock supporters fear the development would ruin the pristine high-desert valley.

Rhodes said Tuesday that he doesn't know where the new land would be but that it would have to be equal in value to the land he owns on Blue Diamond Hill.

"Is it in the valley? Is it not in the valley? We don't know that yet," he said.

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani was the lone vote against the resolution. She said that although she is against developing the land, she could not support the swap because it "reinforces bad behavior."

"I just haven't landed on a swap that in my mind just helps somebody out, and I think that was the agenda all along, to have land swapped," she said.

Rhodes said after the meeting that the county approached him with the idea. Brager confirmed that.

"Why buy a piece of property and wait 10 years for this?" Rhodes said.

In addition to the board, he has the support of environmentalists, who spoke in favor of the idea at Tuesday's meeting.

Beyond its scenic value, the hill is home to the Blue Diamond cholla, a stubby, big-needled cactus that is one of 24 plants that Nevada deems "critically endangered," and other plants.

"It's an extraordinarily high concentration of biological diversity that's found nowhere (else) in the world," said James Moore, an ecologist at The Nature Conservancy, an environmental group.

Under the resolution, the land, including the gypsum mine on the site, would be given to the conservation area.

Rhodes said he is aware of environmental concerns. "I love Red Rock just as much as anyone loves Red Rock," he said.

Rhodes has a lawsuit before the Nevada Supreme Court over restrictions placed on the land by the Legislature and the county. The moves were meant to head off Rhodes' development in the area, but the county has dropped the restrictions.

He sued the state, alleging the restrictions were unconstitutional. If he loses the case, he could still build homes on the land, but not as many as he wanted to.

Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or 702-405-9781.