Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Developer knew site was slated for drainage ditch

As plans to design and build a flood channel progress in the Las Vegas Valley's southwest, Rhodes Ranch officials are making a last-ditch effort to push the project off their property, increasing the value of their new development.

Rhodes Ranch is expected to ask the Clark County Planning Commission tonight for permission to renege on an agreement initially made with the Bureau of Land Management during a 1995 land exchange.

According to the BLM, about $186,000 was knocked off the value of a 17-acre strip of property that lines the west side of Durango Drive south of Warm Springs Road with the understanding a drainage ditch would be built on the parcel.

The channel is part of the Tropicana-Flamingo Wash, a concrete drainage ditch that extends north from the new Blue Diamond detention basin.

"There was a drainage channel planned for that side of the road, and they took that into account when they established the value of the property before the land exchange," said Mike Dwyer, manager of the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act office.

If Rhodes Ranch is permitted to push the drainage channel off its property, two significant projects on the east side of Durango could be affected.

The Clark County School District is building a high school near Robindale Road, and the land immediately east of Durango has been set aside for an 18-hole golf course and a county park.

Clark County planners are concerned that moving the channel might result in unnecessary expenses to the county. Not only would bridges have to be built across the ditch but property would have to be purchased for the channel.

Richard Chambers, with Rhodes Design and Development Corp., denied that the flood channel was part of the land-exchange agreement. He said developer Jim Rhodes gave the county the 100-foot-easement for the ditch.

Chambers said Rhodes and the county have long discussed moving the channel to the east side, but mining claims adjacent to the Rhodes property interfered with the plan. The claims have since lapsed.

Chambers also refuted claims that Rhodes wanted to move the ditch simply to allow for more houses in his development. He said the additional 30 homes that the move would allow is insignificant considering that 13,000 homes have been approved for the project.

He said the request to relocate the ditch is about aesthetics.

"Would you like to have a concrete-lined channel on the front of your property?" he asked. "That is more of an issue than building more houses."

Gale Fraser, director of the Flood Control District, said that during the land exchange the district received the land on the west side of Durango at no cost. He guaranteed the district wouldn't purchase land on the east or spend more than originally planned on the channel simply to appease Rhodes Ranch.

"Our position is it's not going to cost us a dime," Fraser said.

Chambers said Rhodes is willing to pay for the cost to move the channel.

The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, the architects of the wash, designed the channel. Project engineer Rob Caskie said Monday that moving the channel 660 feet to the east would not affect the water flow, but there are concerns about placing a ditch near schools and parks.

"It's important that we harmonize with the community," Caskie said. "It could be an attractive nuisance by the school. Kids might want to do what kids do in drainage ditches. It could be a maintenance problem with the park."

Clark County Parks and Recreation Director Glenn Trowbridge said his department has no concerns about the channel on the east side of the road. He said drainage ditches are often worked into the design of golf courses.

"It appears as though the county will select an appraiser to appraise several parcels that would be impacted by the channel," Trowbridge said. "Based upon those recommendations, the board will decide where the channel will go."

The county planning staff, however, said in its report to the commission that it has serious concerns about changing the location and design of the ditch.

"Staff believes the proposal will impact the design of a park and school," says the report, which recommends the board deny the request. "Also, there would be additional financial impacts on the school and/or park site."

The report also cites Department of Aviation concerns. Airport officials fear they would lose acreage required under the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act. They also said a channel on the east side of Durango does not benefit the public.

The Planning Commission meets at 7 p.m. tonight in the Clark County Government Center commission chambers.

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