Plan for cold storage plant is on ice

Negotiations between the Calico Ridge homeowners and the developers of Atlas Cold Storage have reached an impasse.

Mediator Lansford Levitt, hired by the city of Henderson, said that Atlas' representatives have pulled out of the negotiations.

Dave Cremons, an attorney for Spire Capital Corp., which operates Atlas refrigerated warehouse and distribution facilities, confirmed that Spire withdrew from the process.

Spire pulled out, Cremons said, when the neighborhood groups "did an about-face and informed Spire that its project was unacceptable in any form and that it could expect litigation, harassment, obstruction and possible vandalism if it moved forward."

Spire plans to build its refrigerated 150,000-square-foot facility on 10 acres adjacent to the Gold Bond ice cream plant near Lake Mead Drive and Olsen Street. The company has made a number of concessions to neighbors, including reducing the height of the proposed building from a permitted 70 feet to 40 feet, according to Cremons.

"At one time Spire believed that it had negotiated an agreement with neighborhood representatives for the creation of setbacks, the construction of berms, the installation of landscaping and other measures that would enhance the area," he said. "The mediation has clearly failed, despite Spire's good-faith efforts and numerous concessions."

The 400 neighboring homeowners have made it clear they do not want the facility, or any other industrial development, in that area despite the property's industrial zoning.

"They are dead against it," Bob Reynolds, association president, said earlier.

Residents' concerns include a high volume of truck traffic in and out of the Atlas facility as well as its use of ammonia in its refrigeration systems -- the same system, according to Cremons, that is used to cool indoor ice-skating surfaces.

Cremons said the building has been redesigned to move truck traffic away from Calico Ridge. He compared ammonia to natural gas, saying it is safe and useful when managed carefully. He added that the only presence of ammonia at the facility will be within a sealed refrigeration system.

"The trucks will be carrying ice cream, not hazardous chemicals," he said.

Spire, which has submitted a conceptual plan to the city, has yet to make a formal application for the Atlas facility.

Levitt, a professional mediator from Reno who met with the homeowners last week, said not all negotiations are off. Representatives from the Calico Ridge Owners Association and the city are still negotiating design standards for the other parcels along the perimeter of the upscale, custom-home development to create a buffer zone.

"I think significant progress has been made between the city and the homeowners, particularly on the Eagle Rock property," he said.

Levitt added the owners association has a general meeting set for Feb. 8 during which members will address the city staff's recommendations.

The draft Calico Ridge Center Plan, with the exception of the 62 acres adjacent to the Calico Ridge development, is expected to be finalized at next week's Citizens Advisory Committee meeting.

The plan is one of 13 employment centers designated as part of Henderson's Comprehensive Plan. Because only about 6 percent of land in the city is developed as industrial or is available for future industrial use, the Citizen's Advisory Committee recommended the city should preserve its few industrial areas, while remaining sensitive to adjacent residential development.

Homeowners began meeting with the committee in August concerning neighboring land use. Levitt was brought into the mix by the city in mid-October.

The city's staff is recommending it purchase the 7.7 acres between Calico Ridge and the proposed Atlas facility, because a zoning map shows that area as rural residential rather than industrial, which its true zoning.

Levitt said the city's staff recommendations concerning design and zoning guidelines will be incorporated in the committee's report, which will go to the Planning Commission and then the City Council for approval.

"In my opinion, everyone wants this to be a well-planned development," Levitt said.

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