LETTER: Former City Councilman warned about Badlands fiasco

“If the City Council does not allow the developer to build as allowed by current zoning, the developer can sue the city to force the taxpayers to buy the golf course land from him.” These prescient words were spoken by and reiterated on Bob Beers campaign website in 2016 when he was a Las Vegas city councilman. If only they had been heeded, the taxpayers of Las Vegas would not be on the hook for what could approach a $500 million judgment.

I voted for Mr. Beers every time he was on the ballot. He was a true guardian of the people’s money and an upstanding public servant.

But the City Council in 2017 unwisely voted not to allow the developer his right to build on property that he purchased and that was zoned for development. Some council members had a misplaced hope that the whole debacle would somehow blow over. It’s too bad the resulting high-dollar judgment can’t be passed on to them instead of the city residents who put their trust in them.