Henderson council candidates fire volleys over dormant hilltop development

A dormant development that carved up a Henderson hillside has sparked a war of words in the race for City Council.

In dueling mailers sent to voters this week, Ward 2 Councilwoman Debra March and challenger John Simmons are blaming each other for the exclusive enclave turned "eyesore."

March says Simmons was intimately involved in the construction of the development.

Simmons says it wouldn't have been built in the first place if March hadn't signed off on it as a member of the Henderson Planning Commission.

There is evidence to suggest they are both right -- and both a little wrong.

The project in question is Ascaya, a gated, 630-acre tract of high-end custom home lots awaiting construction of its first mansion.

The city approved the development, then known as Crystal Ridge, in 2004. Five years later, developer W.L. Nevada announced it was suspending its sales operation before a single home site could be sold.

From the air, Ascaya's vacant lots and paved cul-de-sacs look like a giant thumbprint on top of the McCullough Mountains at the southern edge of Henderson.

At ground level, parts of Ascaya look like giant stairs carved into the slope at the end of Roma Hills Drive, south of Horizon Ridge Parkway.

March fired the first shot early this week with a campaign mailer stating that Simmons "destroyed a Henderson neighborhood" and "created an eyesore that will never go away" because he was a consultant on the development.

Simmons answered with a mailer that just hit Henderson mailboxes accusing March of trying to blame others for a project she herself approved as a planning commissioner.

March doesn't deny voting for the development, but she said the commission actually approved a lower-density version that "would not have scarred the hillside."

The project was later "up-sized" to a higher density by the City Council, she said.

City records tell a somewhat different story.

March is listed as absent on May 27, 2004, when the Planning Commission first signed off on the project, so Simmons' claim that she "approved Crystal Ridge" appears to be false. But March's recollection about the project being "up-sized" by the City Council doesn't match the official record either.

Documents show no increase in Ascaya's density between 2004 and 2009, when March cast five separate votes in favor of various elements of the development.

As for Simmons' involvement, he said his consulting role was limited to the installation of gas, power and other "dry utilities" at the site.

The former city employee insists he had no stake in the development company or the firm hired to perform the extensive blasting work needed to carve lots into the mountainside.

"She's trying to smear my name," Simmons said.

March's mailer also tries to link Simmons to the project through his campaign manager, Elizabeth Trosper, who used to do public relations work for Ascaya.

Trosper called that the "lamest attack" she has ever seen.

"The word is out: I'm a public relations specialist," she said sarcastically.

Ascaya's developers, meanwhile, are waiting for the day when their project isn't the sort of thing people want to blame on each other.

W.L. Nevada, whose principal is a Hong Kong real estate financier, bought the land in the early 1990s and spent $250 million preparing it for development. That process included blasting and excavation for roughly 300 lots, each priced at more than $1 million.

At the time, residents of nearby communities such as MacDonald Ranch complained that the blasting was damaging their homes and destroying the mountainside.

Today, Ascaya stands idle above Nevada's second-largest city. Its streets are paved, its utilities and some landscaping are in and its lots are ready to build, said Trosper, who no longer speaks for the development but still seems happy to talk about it.

She said W.L. Nevada owns the land free and clear, so the company has the luxury of sitting on the property until the market comes back.

The attack-ad exchange is just the latest volley in an escalating fight between March and Simmons, who are locked in what might go down as the most expensive council campaign ever in the city.

The two candidates started buying billboard space late last year. Both now have commercials running on local television stations, something no Henderson City Council candidate had ever done before.

Grass-roots candidate Kevinn Donovan is also in the running for the Ward 2 seat, but he never worked for the city and hasn't been drawn into the Ascaya fight.

The primary election is April 5. Voters can cast their ballots early through April 1.

Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350.