Cemetery, neighbors find no middle ground in feud

The epitaph could read: Any chance for a truce between a developer and irate neighbors about a planned southwest valley graveyard is dead and buried.

Developer William Gayler met Wednesday with several neighbors and Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak to discuss differences about a proposed cemetery that would hold almost 9,000 burial plots and 4,000 above-ground tombs at Buffalo Drive and Warm Springs Road.

Both sides refused to budge.

Neighbors voiced fears of a cemetery hurting their property values.

Gayler said that wasn't his problem.

Sisolak said there's little he can do because a cemetery is allowed by the commercial zoning for the 20 acres.

"My hands are tied," Sisolak said. "It's a conforming use."

He said that no residents attended the sit-down, only people who own vacant land nearby.

Sisolak dismissed criticisms about the proposed chapel being too tall and the parking lot having seven spaces too many. The real issue is the graveyard, he said.

He reiterated that the county won't sell parkland to Gayler for a cemetery at a more remote area, which frustrated Bill O'Donnell, whose family owns property nearby.

"Once he (Sisolak) shut that door ... there was nothing to talk about," O'Donnell said.

He pointed to a legal feud between Gayler and one of the partners who co-owns a 5-acre corner lot.

The partner contends that Gayler lacked the authority to sign off on commercial zoning in 2005 for that lot.

A judge will review the dispute today and decide whether Gayler was allowed to authorize the zoning.

Gayler said the cemetery will be built even if the judge rules against him.

The land in question is a small portion of the overall site, he said.

To bypass the ruling, he simply has to get approval from those who own 51 percent of the lot (he owns 25 percent) or persuade the court-appointed receiver to give the go-ahead, Gayler said.

"It's totally irrelevant. They (neighbors) are trying to submarine it any way they can."

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.