Vote postponed on proposed garage next to fuel tanks at Las Vegas airport
A proposal to build a parking garage next to large fuel tanks at Las Vegas’ airport was pushed to a Clark County commission meeting next month.
Commissioners were scheduled to vote Wednesday on plans by developer American Nevada Co. for a six-story garage just north of Terminal 1 at Harry Reid International Airport, but county staff requested to hold the item to the Nov. 5 commission meeting. No reasons were given.
The new structure would feature more than 2,200 standard parking stalls as well as solar panels over most of the top level, according to a county staff report, which said the garage would also be “shielded” on the side that borders the fuel tanks.
The 3.8-acre project site currently has a building — occupied by airline-food supplier Sky Chefs — that would get demolished to clear space for the garage, plans show. American Nevada acquired the site in 2015, property records show.
County staff recommended approval of the project, which has a lengthy list of preliminary staff conditions, including security measures.
Possible ‘hazard’ for pilots
The Clark County Department of Aviation, which operates Reid International, contends that the project’s design “presents numerous safety and security concerns” due to its proximity to the fuel tanks, according to the staff report.
The project site is next to the airport’s east side “fuel farm,” and the garage would provide an “elevated, direct line of sight” to large jet-fuel tanks and other areas of the airport, according to the aviation department.
Plus, the rooftop solar panels would be in “very close proximity” to runways, and glint or glare from lighting and reflective surfaces “can create a hazard” for pilots, the department said, as seen in the county staff report.
The gunman who opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Strip on Oct. 1, 2017, killing 58 people that night and injuring hundreds more, also fired at fuel tanks on the airport’s west side, closer to Las Vegas Boulevard.
He struck a large tank twice but did not cause much visible damage, a police report shows.
15,000-pound vehicle at 50 mph
More recently, developers of the now-stalled Dream Las Vegas made a series of design changes to the hotel-casino project near the south edge of the Strip, including enhanced security measures, after facing concerns from the Transportation Security Administration and major airlines due to the site’s proximity to the airport.
The TSA worried the project would increase risks to planes and passengers “due to active shooters and the ability to throw things over the fence.” The agency also feared that Dream’s proposed service road would make its border with the airport more susceptible to bombs hidden in such vehicles as garbage trucks, county records show.
Airlines feared the potential for illegal drone flying, bright lights and laser lights.
County commissioners approved the resort project in fall 2021.
Among the preliminary conditions for the proposed new garage: Before building permits are issued, the developer must obtain aviation department approval of a barrier for the project site’s western edge, which borders the fuel tanks.
The barrier must include a “vehicle crash mitigation rail” that is designed to withstand a 15,000-pound vehicle at 50 mph, according to the staff report.
American Nevada, launched in the 1970s by the late Las Vegas Sun publisher Hank Greenspun and his late wife, Barbara, is perhaps best-known for developing Henderson’s Green Valley master-planned community.
Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342.
