Proposed Badlands housing development up for discussion in Las Vegas
The Las Vegas City Council could approve a proposed housing development at the defunct Badlands golf course as early as Wednesday.
Lennar Homes’ project is up for discussion at the next City Council meeting in which the governing body can take action, according to the agenda. Land-use entitlements up for vote include rezoning and a tentative map.
The move comes after the city’s Planning Commission last month recommended approval of the entire project.
Planning commissioners provide direction to the City Council on the city’s master plan and zoning.
If the seven-member council affirms the 1,480 upscale residential homes — proposed by Lennar Homes — the city would come closer to resolving its longtime legal battle with EHB Cos., which is headed by CEO Yohan Lowie.
A nonbinding agreement the council approved in December is slated to cost the city $636 million, which includes $350 million to take control of the golf course and $286 million to settle three ongoing lawsuits.
Lennar would then buy the land, near Alta Drive and Rampart Boulevard, for $350 million, according to the agreement. EHB has endorsed the new development and signed the land entitlement applications.
Barring unexpected changes to terms, the deal appears on track to close next month.
The vote would come after Las Vegas officials told Nevada legislators last week that the city had implemented a hiring freeze, offered buyouts and scrapped some capital projects to offset the cost of the settlement.
Last year, the city paid EHB $64 million to resolve a fourth lawsuit. The lawsuits alleged that the city essentially “took” the golf course by not allowing Lowie to build his own expansive housing project after his company bought the land in 2015.
Multiple courts have agreed with the complaints, awarding EHB hundreds of millions of dollars.
Continuing to litigate the remaining cases could cost the city upward of $450 million, City Attorney Jeff Dorocak has told the City Council.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.
