A look at the old Badlands Golf Course, which sits in a natural ravine, surrounded by the Queensridge master-planned community, Monday, Feb. 19, 2018.
Thursday, June 20, 2019 | 1:50 p.m.
Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore is seeking to repeal an ordinance adopted by the council last year that requires developers to author impact studies and hold neighborhood meetings prior to repurposing golf courses and open spaces.
Proposed by former Ward 2 City Councilman Steve Seroka, the controversial ordinance passed 4-2 in May 2018. Fiore and Mayor Carolyn Goodman voted against the ordinance, while Bob Coffin, Cedric Crear and Mayor Pro Tempore Lois Tarkanian joined Seroka in voting in favor. Councilman Stavros Anthony was absent.
Critics of the ordinance, including Fiore, condemned it as an attempt to stall development on the former Badlands golf course in the wealthy Ward 2 Queensridge neighborhood. Seroka, who resigned in March for undisclosed reasons, opposed a proposal from EHB Companies to build homes on the shuttered golf course, provoking ire from the developers.
Fiore brought forth a bill to repeal Seroka’s ordinance at the Monday meeting of the recommending committee, of which she is a member along with Goodman and Coffin. The bill was scheduled to be voted on that day and then brought before the council for an adoption vote at the regular council meeting Wednesday.
But Fiore motioned to delay voting on the bill until the July 15 recommending committee meeting, making it eligible for adoption at the July 17 council meeting. By that date, three new council members will be in office: Brian Knudsen in Ward 1, Olivia Diaz in Ward 3 and Victoria Seaman in Ward 2.
“We’re seating three new council members. We’re swearing them in on (July) 3 and I think we need to give them a couple weeks to get them updated on this whole ordinance,” said Fiore, who could not be reached for an additional comment.
Goodman approved the motion to delay the vote. Coffin was absent.
Prior to her election last week, Seaman was involved in an attempt to recall Seroka, primarily based on his stance against development at Badlands. She has previously pledged to handle the Badlands issue differently than her predecessor, but she declined to say whether she would vote to repeal his ordinance.
"I’m not on the council yet, but I am sure once I get sworn in on July 3, I will be briefed on the issue shortly after, at which time I should be able to share my thoughts with you," Seaman said.
Repealing an ordinance previously approved by the City Council does not require a supermajority or any additional standards, said city spokesman Jace Radke.
The current ordinance obliges developers interested in repurposing golf courses or open spaces to undergo a “public engagement program” prior to redeveloping the land. Developers must make their case to neighbors and affected parties as to why they want to repurpose the land and how they will mitigate any potential impacts to “schools, traffic, parks, emergency services and utility infrastructure,” among other requirements.
In addition, developers must present to the city a summary of their public engagement activities, a statement outlining alternative uses of the land and a closure maintenance plan explaining how they will secure the land in the interim. All this must occur prior to submitting an official redevelopment proposal.
When the ordinance passed in May 2018, Fiore decried it as a jab against developer Yohan Lowie of EHB Companies. Seroka defended the ordinance as a way to ensure that residents’ concerns about the loss of open spaces are heard.
Lowie called the ordinance excessively cumbersome and a clear attack against him and his company. EHB’s legal counsel said the company remains in opposition to the ordinance.
“We support the efforts to repeal it, as it should never have been adopted in the first place,” EHB attorney Elizabeth Ham wrote in an email.
