Proposed bill would stymie development near Red Rock Canyon

By April Corbin

Friday, March 31, 2017 | 3:29 p.m.

A bill being considered in the Nevada Legislature could end a long-standing battle over a proposed housing development near Red Rock Canyon.

But first, lawmakers need to address possible unintended consequences in other parts of the state.

Assemblyman Steve Yeager, who represents District 9 in southwest Las Vegas, this morning presented a bipartisan bill to a government affairs committee that would freeze existing municipal zoning laws for land within national conservation areas and national recreation areas.

Assembly Bill 277 would also freeze the municipal zoning laws for property within five miles of a national conservation area.

That includes property owned by Gypsum Resources that developer Jim Rhodes wants to turn into a 5,000-unit residential community.

Many residents oppose the development at Blue Diamond Hill, miles away from Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. It is the subject of ongoing litigation.

A similar bill designed to halt the development passed the Legislature in 2003 but was ruled unconstitutional by the Nevada Supreme Court because it focused specifically on Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The new bill expands the zoning freeze to every national conservation area in the state.

Nevada has three — Red Rock Canyon west of Las Vegas, Sloan Canyon south of Henderson and Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails in the northwest part of the state.

“I believe we have an obligation to protect our lands so in the future people have the opportunity to enjoy these awe-inspiring lands,” Yeager said.

Yeager said anything the Legislature might pass this year would likely be challenged in court, but the bill as currently proposed is constitutionally defensible.

The 2003 law “was written too narrowly and only applied to areas near Red Rock,” he said. “AB 277 applies statewide, not to just one particular area in Nevada. It recognizes precious lands all across the state.”

Representatives from Save Red Rock, Friends of Sloan Canyon and Friends of Black Rock High Rock all spoke in favor of the legislation, as did the Nevada Conservation League, Battle Born Progress and several local businesspeople working in the outdoors or recreational activity market.

Gypsum Resources representative Ron Krater called the new bill “strikingly similar” to the unconstitutional one and said it seemed clear his company was the “primary target.”

More broadly, Krater said, so-called “buffer zones” were built directly into national conservation areas by Congress and use of land outside of them should be left at the local level.

“The practical effect (of this bill) is to remove Clark County zoning powers,” he said.

But at least one county commissioner is in support of AB 277. A representative for Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani spoke on her behalf, saying she believes the bill respects property owners’ rights, allows for local government control and protects the “jewel of Red Rock.”

Boulder City Manager Dan Fraser said the city was concerned about the unintended negative impacts a five-mile buffer zone around Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area might have on the city’s solar-energy initiatives.

Some land adjacent to Sloan Canyon NCA is designated by Boulder City as a “study zone” and rezoned as needed. Fraser said the city is concerned AB 277 could prohibit it from building a solar plant, for example.

“We designated it as a study area so we could make sure we did not develop it until we’re convinced (of a good reason),” he said. “The areas that are presently study zones we are anticipating would become solar facilities, and we’d need to rezone them once we had a solar developer ready.”

Yeager said the spirit of AB 277 is not to hinder renewable energy projects and that he would work with appropriate parties to make necessary adjustments.

The bill now has two weeks to make it out of committee. If it does, it will be heard by the Assembly.