Thursday, Sept. 9, 1999 | 11:29 a.m.
Clark County commissioners gave a thumbs-down to a proposed development for manufactured homes adjacent to the Wetlands Park Wednesday.
Tropicana Hollywood, the company owning the 20 acres adjacent to the Wetlands Park, wanted to put 124 lots on the property. The company sought a zoning change for the 20 acres from rural-estates residential, which allows up to two lots per acre, to Mobile Home Park, which would allow high-density development.
The Clark County Planning Commission denied the zoning change request last month. The Whitney Town Board, an advisory board, also had voted to deny the zoning change.
The county planning staff argued against allowing the development for a variety of reasons, among them that the proposed development would be in a 100-year flood plain, that the proposed development is within a half-mile radius of a wastewater treatment plant, and that the water table on the site is close to the surface.
"We have to be very careful how we change these water flows," said Commissioner Mary Kincaid.
Commissioner Myrna Williams said Tropicana Hollywood's proposal to put a drainage canal along the west side of the property could have dangerous results in the case of another heavy flood such as the one that hit the valley on July 8.
Michael Loudermilk, representing Tropicana Hollywood, argued that the company would raise the surface of the area to be developed with landfill, alleviating concerns about flooding, and said that the odor from the treatment plant was not a significant problem. Loudermilk pointed out that similar high-density land use was earlier permitted to the west and south of the proposed development.
He also cited his own groundwater studies which did not find water close to the surface.
The county had objected to one element of the proposed development -- a variance to eliminate the landscaping requirement along Tropicana Avenue -- but Loudermilk withdrew the variance request during his presentation to the county commissioners.
The county staff and the Clark County Parks Department objected to the variance request because Tropicana Avenue along the property is slated to become the main entrance to the Wetlands Park visitors' center.
Jeff Harris, representing the parks department, said the 20-acre development would spoil access to the park and possibly affect water drainage in the area.
"We don't know what affect the water would have, but there would be an impact," Harris said.
The Wetlands Park, which the county is still developing, contains a few hundred acres of what once was thousands of acres of wetlands that cleansed water flowing from the valley through the Las Vegas Wash. County officials hope that the park could help filter pollutants flowing from the wash to the Colorado River.
Loudermilk rejected a proposal floated by the commissioners that he sell the property to the parks department. He said in discussions with the parks department, the county had not offered what the company paid for the property more than 20 years ago.
He also said developing the property in its current zoning scheme would not be "economically feasible" since nearby property was zoned for multifamily use.
Commissioner Dario Herrera, who represents the district, offered to have a meeting with Loudermilk and county staff to find a suitable development option.
Jack Hurley, chairman of the Whitney Town Board, said he was happy that the commissioners turned down the zoning change request.
Hurley said the proximity to the Wetlands Park and possible drainage problems made the proposed development inappropriate for that area.
Loudermilk said he's not sure what the company will do next with the property, but will attend the meeting with Herrera.
archive
