Boulder City's tough choice: Shun growth or embrace it

Next week's election in Boulder City focuses on one topic: development. Or more to the point, the lack of it.

Most communities in Southern Nevada embrace growth like a child hugging an Elmo doll. But Boulder City is the polar opposite, shunning development for decades and happily remaining a sleepy enclave amid the white-hot growth of Southern Nevada.

But developers are getting ready to swarm the gates. And unless voters approve a ballot question in June, a 700-acre chunk of land near the city limits soon could be covered by thousands of houses.

And that would be only the beginning.

The predicament has left the city between a boulder and a hard place. And with the April 3 mayoral and council primaries coming two months before the ballot questions go before voters, candidates are having to address the momentous hypothetical possibilities in their campaigns.

Mayoral candidate Roger Harris is encouraging residents to vote no on the ballot question and yes to him, making him the opposite of his major competitors, Councilmen Roger Tobler and Mike Pacini. Homeless man Gary Kallam also is on the ballot in the race to replace Mayor Bob Ferraro, who is retiring after more than 30 years in city government.

The ballot question asks voters whether the city should sell to Clark County all or part of Dutchman Pass, with the proceeds being used to purchase about 700 acres near Railroad Pass, west of U.S. 95, to protect it from a potential 3,800-home development.

Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury has warned that if the question does not pass, development on the city line will be inevitable.

But Harris thinks the question would give the City Council a "blank check" to sell as much as it sees fit of Dutchman Pass, situated near Sloan National Canyon Preservation Area.

"I don't understand it," the 56-year-old Harris said of the ballot question. "I don't see any figures. I don't see any money."

Tobler said any land the county purchased could be used only for preservation.

However, major questions remain, starting with the value of either section of land and the precise amount of property involved. When city officials met recently with developer Larry Canarelli, the parties agreed on how the deal would work, but not the finances.

Pacini and Tobler both have said they want voters to have all the information before June. Kallam, 64, opposes the ballot question.

Instead of the current ballot question, Harris is calling for the return of a proposal that the courts pulled off last November's ballot that would have asked voters whether they would like to sell all 107,000 acres of Eldorado Valley and divide most of the money among the city's residents.

However, Harris might not have a chance to be a major player in that decision at City Hall. Acknowledging he is a very long shot, he puts the odds against a win at 12-to-1.

"I had one sign," he said. "It's in my garage. It blew down the other day. I'm not a politician."

The same could be said of Kallam, a former poker pro. "I haven't raised a dime and I'm not spending a dime," he said.

Tobler, 41, and Pacini, 39, each say they are content to let voters decide the matter. But Pacini acknowledged he does not like the idea of homes near Canarelli's land.

"I don't want homes there," he said. "I think there's the opportunity for a lot of development, and I'm not sure what the impact would be on the city."

Tobler said although he does not object to developing the land, the Canarelli property would have too many homes and would pose difficulties in providing city services.

Although Pacini and Tobler are widely considered heavy favorites in the race, Kallam hopes voters will opt for a fresh voice at City Hall.

"I'd be the most exciting thing that's ever happened to this town," he said.

The ballot also features 10 candidates running for two City Council seats. Councilwoman Karla Burton is the only incumbent in the field, which will be cut to the top five finishers, who will go on to the June general election.

The challengers are: UNLV student Fritz McDonald, attorneys Travis Chandler and Linda Strickland, homemaker Myreen Star Ashenbach, retiree Beverly Burke, banker Dean Collins, hairstylist Kathey Ditzler, paralegal Diane Hutchings and hotel employee Wayne Mrozinski.

Burton, Ditzler and Strickland have waged the most aggressive advertising campaigns, and Chandler hopes to capitalize on the attention he drew last year in fighting for the petition pulled off the November ballot.

In addition to the potential land deals, other issues hover over the elections.

When the Hoover Dam Bypass opens in 2010, thousands more vehicles will pass through the small city, adding urgency to the decades-old debate over a possible Boulder City Bypass.

The future of two city-operated golf courses also will confront the next council. Many residents complain that the money spent on maintaining the courses could be put to better use in making upgrades to the city's infrastructure.

And the candidates have addressed another perpetual concern: drawing more tourism to the quaint town.