Thursday, July 17, 1997 | 9:44 a.m.
The County Commission has refused to hold public hearings on the proposed 1,850-acre Olympic Highlands development until after the completion of a fiscal impact statement.
The commission Wednesday unanimously approved the scope of the study. But it held off on receiving a draft of the project's land use plans and setting a public hearing until the study is reviewed by the board.
"This is an essential prerequisite to even consider a project like this," Commissioner Bruce Woodbury said. "Whatever money they're spending in no way commits the commission to approving this project."
The Arizona-based Olympic Group, which got the land in a federal exchange, hired Coopers & Lybrand and Hobbs & Ong to study how the 8,000-home, master-planned community would affect public services.
The property is a stretch of desert at the southern end of the Las Vegas Valley, bordered by Cactus Avenue, Lake Mead Drive, Jones Boulevard and Interstate 15.
The study's scope includes the effect the project on schools, roads, fire protection and other public services.
"I want to make sure the impact is clearly spelled out," said Commission Chairwoman Yvonne Atkinson Gates, who requested the impact statement two months ago on this and other large-scale projects. "And I want to know who's going to pick up the cost of those services. Existing homeowners shouldn't have to pick up the cost of such a large project."
Assistant Planning Manager Jory Stewart said the county could experience some cost at the project's early stages. But the study should analyze potential cost to the county and potential mitigation needed.
"Development agreements have been negotiated in the past without fiscal impact statements," Commissioner Lorraine Hunt said. "Those days are over."
John Restrepo of Coopers & Lybrand said they would need five weeks to get a final draft back to county planning staff.
What's missing from the study is an estimate of how much other growth could be generated by the Olympic project, Gates said.
Greg Borgel, an Olympic planning consultant, said that wasn't a question for the consultants to answer but added that he would continue working with county staff on land use patterns.
"Yes, there will be more development as a result of extending the infrastructure," Borgel said.
But development would be limited by the rural neighborhood preservation area to the north of Olympic Highlands, and a cooperative management agreement with the airport limiting housing density, he said.
Ellen Skinner, president of the Enterprise Residents Association, said there is still plenty of vacant land for development, and the only other planned community west of I-15 is the 20-year-old Warm Springs Estates.
"Otherwise, this is the last remaining open expanse of horse property," Skinner said, applauding the board for holding off on the project until the fiscal impact study was completed.
Skinner said her homeowners group was created to bring to the county's attention the need to recognize neighborhoods that face an avalanche of encroaching commercial and planned development.
"We live in a desert, and they want to build another golf course, and have 20,000 people living here," Skinner said. "We can't keep building until it busts. There are finite resources."
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