Clark County wants to fight Las Vegas over annexation

Clark County commissioners want their residents to know: You can fight annexation, and the county will help.

“We are available from a staff, legal and commission standpoint to assist the neighbors,” Commissioner Larry Brown said Wednesday.

Commissioners at their zoning meeting expressed solidarity with residents opposing a Las Vegas City Council proposition to absorb 872 acres of county land. The plan would affect more than 1,500 property owners. The land is spread out across 10 sections of city Wards 1, 3 and 5, the boundaries of which run east from Durango Drive to Nellis Boulevard.

The city has scheduled a Feb. 12 public hearing on the matter.

The periodic annexation of unincorporated land into Las Vegas has long drawn the ire of county commissioners, who believe such efforts are forced upon their residents.

Brown said he believes the driving force behind the proposed land grab is the nearly $3 million in new property tax revenues Las Vegas would receive.

“There’s no reason to force annexation when the justification simply comes down to the property taxes,” he said.

Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak directed staff to send a letter to the city expressing the county’s “vehement opposition” to annexation. Commissioners will consider adopting a similar resolution at their Feb. 6 meeting.

“I want the neighbors to know that we’re with them in this fight,” he said. “If anything else, it will give them some fortitude to keep moving forward.”

Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick said she plans to walk door-to-door to inform residents of their ability to protest the annexation of their property.

An interlocal agreement between the city and county in December 2016 stipulates what land can be annexed and what is exempt, such as the Strip.

State law prohibits the city from annexing the land for at least a year if a majority of the affected property owners protest the move. Brown said he will ask the state Legislature to amend the law when it meets in 2019.

“Let’s not put the burden on the homeowner to jump through all these hoops to say ‘no,’” Brown said. “Let’s put the burden on the public agency to demonstrate the ‘yes.’”

County attorney Robert Warhola said his office has been searching Nevada’s annexation law for any way the county can fight the city. He told commissioners Wednesday that he is “convinced” the city is not complying with the law, although he declined to comment further.

Commissioner Lawrence Weekly took the fight to City Hall on Wednesday morning, telling the City Council he’s met with many people living inside the affected area who are “passionate about staying county residents.”

“It’s a huge impact on a lot of the residents who bought into a concept years ago,” he told the council. “When you buy into a lifestyle and you’re accustomed to a lifestyle, that’s what you expect to live out your life with.”

The county will host a town hall about the annexation plan at the Mountain Crest Community Center from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday. Another one will be held at the Winchester Cultural Center from 4 to 7 p.m. Jan. 25.

Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter. Staff writer Jamie Munks contributed to this report.