Henderson looks to Eldorado Valley for growth

Henderson’s next conquest could be 4 square miles of mostly empty desert south of town, some of it lying along the future path of Interstate 11.

The City Council will hold its first discussion Tuesday on a plan to annex 2,738 acres into the city limits, which would set the stage for building homes and businesses on much of it.

The now-unincorporated land sits on the edge of the Eldorado Valley, mostly south of Henderson’s current borders and west of U.S. Highway 95. The annexation would stretch Henderson’s borders outside the Las Vegas Valley.

Developers who want to build homes there have been talking to city officials about annexation for more than a year, said Robert Murnane, Henderson’s senior director for public works, parks and recreation.

The council could vote Tuesday to move forward with talks, but the annexation will not get final approval this week.

It hasn’t been decided how many homes would be allowed, but the city says developers would cover all the costs of new roads and extending water and sewer lines.

Scott Gragson, a land broker who manages two of the parcels, said the Eldorado Valley would be an attractive place to live — close to Las Vegas and Boulder City, yet removed enough to be peaceful.

“I do think it would make a great master-planned community down there,” Gragson said.

GROWING FAST

The southward push comes about a decade after the westward expansion that brought Henderson’s boundaries out to Las Vegas Boulevard.

The annexation would increase Henderson’s size from less than 108 square miles to 112. In 2000, the city was 80 square miles, meaning it will have grown 40 percent in the past 15 years if the southern annexation goes through.

When it became a city in 1953, Henderson was just 13 square miles, Geoff Schumacher wrote in the Las Vegas history book “Sun, Sin &Suburbia.”

The population — now more than 270,000 — has grown by more than 50 percent since 2000. Among Nevada cities, only Las Vegas has more people.

The expansion also would bring Henderson’s border up to the edge of Boulder City, which strictly limits new building.

Boulder City has bought and annexed much of the Eldorado Valley to conserve open land. As a result, it’s 208 square miles — despite having only 15,000 people.

Boulder City Mayor Roger Tobler said he would be concerned if a lot of new homes were built in the Eldorado Valley, though some housing would be fine.

Several years ago, Boulder City considered annexing the land Henderson is now eyeing, but the City Council decided against it, Tobler said. Officials from the two cities recently met to discuss how to work together on wastewater issues that could be caused by new development.

“We knew something would happen out there eventually,” Tobler said. “Henderson is being a good neighbor by including us in the process.”

NEW HIGHWAY

It’s easy to see why the Eldorado Valley land is attractive to developers.

The northeast portion skirts the future route of Interstate 11, envisioned to link Phoenix and Las Vegas — and ultimately the Mexican and Canadian borders.

Ground was broken this year on the first I-11 segment, a 15-mile Boulder City bypass. Scheduled to be finished in 2018, it runs through the land that could be annexed into Henderson.

The right of way runs through land owned by Lynn Goodfellow, one of the property owners who signed on to ask for annexation. Ten acres of his land is being taken for I-11, he said.

Goodfellow, who has manufactured rock-crushing equipment at the site since the 1980s, said he’s fine with annexation so long as it doesn’t hurt his business.

“I don’t want everything changed on me,” Goodfellow said.

Most of the 2,738 acres proposed for annexation is federal land, with 1,065 acres being private property. The land is east of the mountains that divide the Las Vegas and Eldorado valleys.

The city said federal officials have signed off on the land being annexed into Henderson. Murnane said the federal parcels aren’t scheduled to be offered for auction. But they could be one day.

STILL PLANNING

Before Henderson decides to annex, it wants a plan.

Murnane said the city likes “orderly” development, so staff want the council to agree to an annexation only after there’s a signed development agreement: a plan for not just future homes, but schools, parks, water and sewer lines and possibly a fire station.

Councilwoman Debra March said the Eldorado Valley is a good spot for growth — but only if the city can provide the same amenities there as it does in the rest of Henderson.

“It has to make sense for the city as well as the developer,” March said.

Talks have focused on two major future developments, Murnane said: one from D.R. Horton and one from Raintree Investments. Officials with both of those companies didn’t respond to requests for comment.

If the council votes this week to move forward with annexation, it would not become official for as long as a year. There would be a future public hearing before final approval.

“It’ll take a long time and a lot of effort,” Gragson said.

Contact Eric Hartley at ehartley@reviewjournal.com or 702-550-9229. Follow @ethartley on Twitter.