Builder donates land to save it

By Jeremy Twitchell

Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008 | midnight

The developer of a proposed housing project on the southeast edge of Henderson has come to an agreement with the city to donate 21 acres of untouched hillside land to make sure it stays that way.

Boulder City-based RPS Homes owns 83 acres in Henderson near U.S. 95, a short distance north of Railroad Pass Casino. The Henderson City Council unanimously approved a deal with RPS to accept 21 of those acres with a deed restriction against any future development. The acres to be given to the city make up the ridge of the hillside.

RPS has been approved to build a multi-family housing project on the site, with as many as 24 units per acre. The project has been named Jericho Heights.

RPS Homes President Randy Chams said the agreement was worked out with the city as the two sides hammered out planning for the development.

"It's good for Henderson. It's good for me," Chams said. "We get some tax credits out of it, so it's mutually beneficial. Henderson really wants to preserve the hillside, and we want to work with them to make it possible."

In 1997, Henderson passed the Hillside Development Ordinance, which sets development guidelines and prohibits building on any slope steeper than 15 degrees. Since then, projects that have pushed the limits of the ordinance or asked for waivers from its provisions have become contentious issues in city meetings.

Henderson Principal Planner Michael Tassi said the city typically asks hillside developers to donate a portion of their land to the city in order to assure that it remains undeveloped. He said the city reached a similar agreement with developers of The Canyons at MacDonald Ranch.

"You've got non-disturbed areas and, if you dedicate them to the City of Henderson, we can protect it," he said. "That way, we can make sure that no development takes place on that land."

Jericho Heights was initially approved in 2004. When the two-year clock for the approval expired in 2006, Chams asked the city for a two-year extension, citing the slowing housing market, and was granted the request.

But with that extension set to expire in December and the market in an even worse position, Chams said he is working with the city on another extension.

He said the slowdown has doubly affected his project, because the crushed rock and sand, or aggregate, that he needs to remove from the site before he can begin construction has been difficult to sell. The aggregate is a key component in concrete and asphalt, two products that are in falling demand in the current market.

Despite the challenges, Chams said he is confident that the project is still viable and will be a welcome addition to the city.

"It's going to be beautiful. It's going to be gorgeous," he said. "It's going to be a wonderful gateway into the city of Henderson."

The prospect of development near Railroad Pass has been a subject of controversy for some Boulder City residents, who fear that Henderson will expand into the Eldorado Valley and begin to encroach on their city.

Chams, himself a Boulder City resident, said he regularly works with Boulder City officials and has heard no concerns about Jericho Heights.

"Not one bit," he said. "This property has been zoned for Henderson. It's located in Henderson, and there's county land and (Bureau of Land Management) land beyond it."

Jeremy Twitchell can be reached at 990-8928 or [email protected].