Friday, Sept. 6, 2002 | 10:53 a.m.
The contest between developers of a proposed community near Red Rock Canyon and their opposition heated up Thursday night as Metro Police were called to remove protesters from a Clark County zoning meeting.
Police were called after about 150 protesters loudly objected to a request by developer John Laing Homes to delay consideration of the proposal to build as many as 8,400 homes on top of Blue Diamond Hill, surrounded on three sides by the Red Rock National Conservation Area.
The catcalls got more raucous when the planning commission granted the request, and county attorney Rob Warhola suggested security clear the room. Planning commission Chairman Dick Bonar called for a recess to calm the situation.
By the time several squad cars of Metro Police officers arrived to clear the demonstrators, most of the protesters were already on board a bus chartered to take them from their homes in Blue Diamond to the meeting.
Police said they did not make any arrests.
Red Rock Town Advisory Board Chairman Evan Blythin, one of dozens of Blue Diamond residents attending the meeting, said the request for a hold was a "political maneuver" and should be denied.
"The developer has had over a year to marshal his armies," Blythin said.
The planning commission's action means the next showdown on the proposed development will be in front of the same board Oct. 3. Requests to hold items for further discussion are routinely granted.
Calvin Champlin, a private planner who designed the development for John Laing Homes, told the planning commission that the hold will give the developer more time to work out issues with county staff and residents of the area.
The Clark County Commission, the county's top elected body, could ultimately vote on the zoning request needed for the development to go forward on Oct. 17, although the developer could push back the date further.
The protesters Thursday night promised they would attend the meetings in the future -- and a rally planned for the Red Rock Canyon overlook, in the conservation area, Sunday morning.
The opposition, which includes Blue Diamond residents, Red Rock Canyon enthusiasts and environmentalists with the local arm of the Sierra Club, believe the plan to put as many as 20,000 people on top of the hill will negatively impact the conservation area and the village.
They are concerned that the project would lead to increased traffic, strain government and utility services and hurt the surrounding environment.
Executives and community designers with John Laing Homes attended the planning Commission meeting, but provided terse "no comments" to media. In the past they have argued that the development would be, in environmental terms, a good replacement for the active gypsum mine now operating on the 2,200 acres targeted for the project.
They also argue that they can design the project so it would have minimal impact on Blue Diamond and the conservation area.
While their arguments have been rejected by county staff, the residents of Blue Diamond and many of those at Thursday's meeting, not everyone is opposed to the project.
Glynda Jenkins, a southwest Las Vegas Valley resident, said she came to learn more about the proposal and will probably attend the Sunday rally for the same reason.
But Jenkins believes that a well-designed development would not hurt Red Rock, which she frequently visits with her children. Jenkins said she was born and raised in Las Vegas, and has seen the expansion of the urban area.
That doesn't have to be a bad thing, she said.
"People want to live out of the city," she said. "It's beautiful up there. I think the development could be a positive thing for the county."
Bureau of Land Management spokesman Phil Guerrero said Thursday that his agency, which runs Red Rock, does not have a problem with the protest planned for Sunday. He said the agency supports the First Amendment right of the people to speak out on the development issue.
But he cautioned both the protesters and those who might be driving by on State Route 159 to be careful. A recent accident killed a bicyclist on the road inside the conservancy.
Guerrero said the BLM will likely have several rangers on hand.
"We want everybody to have a safe and peaceful demonstration," he said. "Most of all, we don't want anybody to be hurt. We need to be very careful out there for people in cars."
Serrin Anderson, one of the coordinators of the Red Rock Canyon protest, said she hopes to have at least 500 people attending the Sunday rally. That would be roughly twice the population of Blue Diamond village, the epicenter of resistance to the proposed development.
"What would be lovely is if people would bicycle, hike, ride horses or stroll from the overlook to the visitors center," Anderson said. "It's to show the support for the Red Rock we all love, to keep it pristine."
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