Montandon wants 7,500-acre BLM parcel in one lump sum

The North Las Vegas City Council committed to paper on Wednesday its plan to acquire and develop 7,500 Bureau of Land Management acres that lie within the city limits.

Mayor Michael Montandon said in light of the struggle the city has had in determining the future of the empty parcel on its north side, the resolution, approved unanimously, formalizes the city's desire to privatize the acreage as one large piece.

"The concept of a master-planned community and the integrity of the parcel should not be destroyed by chopping it up into little pieces," he said.

City officials hope the 7,500 acres will do for North Las Vegas what Green Valley has done for Henderson. A proposed conceptual plan for the parcel calls for a master-planned community blending the site's natural resources and market demand for residential, commercial and light industrial/office uses.

"Currently we're working with the BLM on creating ... a very, very significant community for the entire valley," Montandon said.

The BLM plans to sell about 27,000 acres to Clark County under the federal Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act of 1998. Of that acreage, the North Las Vegas parcel is the largest.

Montandon, however, said there are some forces in Washington, D.C., that would like to see the parcel split up.

"There are voices in Washington who would like to see it chopped up in pieces to lower their exposure," he said, referring to past large land exchanges that have brought the Interior Department under fire.

"A $10 million or $20 million land sale doesn't draw the eyes that a $100 million-plus land sale does."

Dividing the property could be economically devastating for North Las Vegas.

According to the resolution, "city leaders have concluded after extensive research that to break up this parcel would render a significant amount of this acreage valueless to interested developers."

Montandon has estimated the value of the property at somewhere between $100 million and $150 million.

"The anticipated development of the property over the next 25 years is critical to the economic well-being of the city of North Las Vegas and a significant new residential and employment base within the city," he said.

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