Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Clark County Government:

Commission to tackle familiar issues of recycling, Rhodes project near Red Rock

Two long-standing issues — recycling and a controversial housing development near Red Rock — will be back up for discussion at Tuesday’s Clark County Commission meeting. The board, which will hold its regular meeting at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, also will meet on Wednesday as the zoning commission. Here’s what to watch for during the meetings:

Going Green

For years, Clark County commissioners have debated the merits of switching to single-stream recycling, but they’ve failed to take action while the program has been implemented in Henderson and North Las Vegas.

Supporters say the change — which would replace the three bins for cans, paper and glass bottles with a single, large cart — will increase recycling rates in the county, which currently hover at about 3 percent.

But under the ordinance being proposed Tuesday, residents would lose their twice-weekly trash pickup, instead seeing garbage and recyclables each collected weekly.

Commissioners won’t vote on the ordinance until after a public hearing, tentatively scheduled for the Feb. 5 meeting, but Tuesday’s introduction could give an indication of which way the commission is leaning.

Let’s make a deal

The 3,000-acre Gypsum Mine property on Blue Diamond Hill near Red Rock National Conservation Area has been a source of controversy ever since developer Jim Rhodes announced plans to build thousands of homes there.

Opponents worry the development would ruin the pristine beauty of the area, and the project has been delayed for years by a series of legal and financial challenges.

Click to enlarge photo

Developer Jim Rhodes smiles on Blue Diamond Hill on Monday, May 5, 2003. Las Vegas can be seen in the background.

One possible solution — a land swap between the developer and the federal government — will be discussed at Tuesday’s commission meeting, where commissioners will consider a resolution supporting the evaluation of a possible deal.

If a land swap were to occur, the county resolution also calls for the Gypsum Mine property to be incorporated into the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

Cleared for landing

McCarran International Airport officials will ask the county to approve a program that gives incentives to airline companies that bring more flights and passengers into Las Vegas.

Airlines currently pay monthly landing fees to use McCarran facilities, based on the number of planes and passengers flying into the city.

When airlines bring in more flights, they pay a higher fee, but the new Landed Weight Incentive Program would help defray those costs.

The program will provide a credit covering up to 100 percent of the incremental landing fee increase for any airline that adds routes or brings more passengers into Las Vegas year over year.

The program, which is capped at $3 million annually, likely will be approved as part of the commission’s consent agenda.

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