Lack of services stalls development in NLV

Fire and emergency services are lagging so far behind development in the northwest section of North Las Vegas that future residents could be at risk.

The City Council has held off approving additional residential developments in the northwest until Wednesday to give city staff time to figure out ways to provide fire and other essential services to the area.

North Las Vegas fire officials are concerned because growth in the northwest is outpacing the city's ability to provide emergency medical, fire and other services, according to fire department Chief Robert Dodge.

North Las Vegas' population has doubled over the past 10 years and the northwest is the fastest-growing area in the city.

"(Services) are always a concern when you have an explosive growth rate," said Don Schmeiser, the city's director of development services. "You're going to have city services and facilities lagging behind; it's just a matter of getting caught up."

North Las Vegas' population increased by 14 percent last year to 106,660, Schmeiser said.

Currently, the fire department has only one facility, Station 54, that covers the northwest, an estimated 25-square-mile area bordered by Decatur Boulevard on the west, Lamb Boulevard on the east and everything north of Craig Road, Dodge said. That's one-third of North Las Vegas, he added.

Any future development in that area will place an even greater strain on a fire station that responded to 1,263 calls last year compared to 511 calls in 1994, a 157 percent increase over four years, Dodge said.

Avante Homes plans to build a 507-house development in the northwest at Centennial Parkway and Allen Lane but can't go forward with those plans until the city finds a way to provide adequate emergency and fire services to all developments and future residents of that area.

"Our biggest concern is, when you build a house, can (the city) respond to a 911 emergency call?" North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon said.

At this point, Station 54 can respond to the area, but maybe not in time to save a life or a house from being destroyed by flames, according to Dodge.

The fire department aims for a 4- to 6-minute response time to calls, Dodge said. The proposed Avante development is an 8-minute drive from Station 54. A home that far away could potentially be destroyed in the time it takes the fire department to get there, he said.

Brain damage from lack of oxygen can occur 5 minutes after a person stops breathing, so every second counts, Dodge said.

"Response time is our biggest concern. If the engine for 54 is out on a call, the next available engine is 4 miles away... a 12- to 15-minute response time to Avante," Dodge said.

Montandon agrees that adequate fire department response time is a concern for the northwest, but he is confident that a solution will be found.

"The answer is to come up with a plan to balance (city) service with growth," he said.

Several solutions are being considered and city officials are trying to work out an agreement with developers so that projects can begin construction, since halting development is out of the question, Montandon said.

One possible solution -- building a new fire station -- is at least two years away, Dodge said. A facility is planned near Washburn Road and Willis Street, but would take at least two years to construct.

A temporary fix may be buying an emergency vehicle for Station 54 so that the fire truck can be available for fire-related calls, Montandon said.

Another idea that the fire department proposed -- for Avante to install fire sprinklers in the houses -- won't solve the problem, Montandon said.

Requiring sprinklers to be installed in new homes outside of the fire department's service area would discriminate against certain developers, Councilwoman Stephanie Smith said.

"That's not going to be feasible. Do you know how much that would add to the cost of a house?" Smith said.

Mark Jones, of Southwest Engineering and the designer for the Avante Homes project, said requiring fire sprinklers would significantly raise the price of a home.

"It could add $1,500 to $2,000 to the cost of a $100,000 home and possibly price some buyers out of the market. I don't believe the buying public wants to see fire sprinklers in homes," Jones said.

Dodge said his intention isn't to increase the costs of a home, but to ensure public safety. He pointed out that the addition of sprinklers to the homes would provide a small measure of protection by lessening the odds of a fire.

Jones has been working closely with city officials to find a solution to the fire department's concerns, so that development doesn't come to a standstill.

"I don't promote that we stop development but we must find a mechanism to continue providing emergency services. That mechanism is a way to fund and maintain future fire stations in North Las Vegas," Jones said.

Montandon said that funding services is the real problem, not growth. Stopping development now would hurt rather than help the situation, he said.

"We don't need to stop development," newly elected Councilwoman Shari Buck said. "We don't want people to be afraid to build or buy here."

The issue is more than just providing emergency services to the Avante Homes development, Councilwoman Stephanie Smith said, and the solution won't come overnight.

"This is something we can't solve next week or next month. It's a growth issue. There is no crisis yet, it's only a crisis on paper," Smith said.

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