Residents speak out against Town Center plan

Stephen Reilly went to a public meeting conducted by the Las Vegas Planning Commission Thursday night thinking he might stand before the panel and tell them he liked a controversial Town Center development plan.

But after he arrived at City Hall and saw about 150 angry homeowners sitting in the auditorium he changed his mind.

"I thought I might have gotten stoned," he laughed.

No one else at the meeting was laughing.

Many residents of an area of a northwest Las Vegas development in the general area of Durango Drive and U.S. 95 are upset that they are getting more than they bargained for when they decided to build their homes on large lots in a rural setting.

They may be getting Town Center, a concept of a downtown in the suburbs, with commercial usage and high-density residences occupying areas on either side of a beltway that is to be built into the area to help relieve traffic congestion.

Town Center will be clustered around a future 60-foot interchange, similar in construction to the Las Vegas "Spaghetti Bowl."

In the draft proposal, landscaped avenues and parkways, and walkable neighborhoods are listed to help keep the areas residential, with close to 200 acres already planned for parks and open space, Brown said.

The center will also contribute 100,000 jobs. It is projected that 25 to 30 percent of those jobs will be filled by residents of the northwest.

Reilly admits he has some concerns about multi-family dwellings and commercial projects in Town Center, but he is more concerned about not having a Town Center.

Town Center will take up about 3,700 acres, according to developers. But without Town Center, which would mean spreading commercial development out in various non-central locations, as much as 11,000 acres could be taken up with businesses.

"Generally, it's a good plan," says Reilly, who believes the majority of the people who live in the area aren't aware of Town Center. "They only know about the beltway."

Joni Kroll is one of many homeowners who are very aware of Town Center, which is par of the Northwest General Plan.

Like many of those who live closest to the Town Center, she doesn't want it in her backyard.

"High density is not compatible with residential ownership," said Kroll.

Furthermore, she said, roads in the area will not hold the traffic that will result from Town Center.

David Griego, chairman of the planning commission, was sympathetic to the angry residents.

"I assure you, we do listen," he said. "I urge you to continue to fight."

Statements made by the general public at Thursday's meeting will be considered for the Aug. 13 commission meeting, when the project will be on the agenda.

A copy of the Town Center Master Plan will be available Aug. 3.

It is being taken out of the Northwest General Plan and presented on its own, not as an insertion in the broader plan.

Paul Gamble, one of more than a dozen who spoke out against the project during the public discussions, said he is as concerned about flood control as traffic control in the area.

People voiced a variety of concerns, including being stuck in the middle of commercial development after thinking they were buying a more rural lifestyle.

In other action, the Planning Commission listened to a number of Summerlin residents protest a for-profit park that the City Council approved for their neighborhood last year. The occasion was the commission's vote on the design and certain amenities at Sportspark, a $5 million facility at Vegas Drive and Rampart Boulevard being developed by former Clark County Commissioner Don Schlesinger.

Many neighbors continue to protest the park, saying its ice and roller skating rinks and ball fields will clutter up their neighborhood with traffic and attract an undesirable element, thus decreasing the value of their homes.

Because the park has already been approved, the Planning Commission could not take those concerns into consideration Thursday and voted 6-0 to approve the park's plans.

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