BLM swap freeze not in cards

Tuesday, July 9, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

and Jeff Schweers

A proposal by Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., to freeze public-private land exchanges in Southern Nevada is dead, federal officials say.

That's good news for home buyers, who could have faced higher housing costs, and for developers, who need land to build new houses.

Some real estate officials had feared that a freeze, which would have shut off the amount of Las Vegas real estate available for development, could have driven housing costs up by 20 percent, or $20,000 on a $100,000 home.

"I don't believe in a moratorium," said Barbara Holland, president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. "This community is pro-growth, and that affects everyone's livelihood."

Ensign called for the freeze in a June 20 letter to Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt because Ensign says the government is not getting fair market value on land exchanges.

The federal Bureau of Land Management swaps land that developers need in the Las Vegas Valley for privately held forest acreage and other environmentally sensitive property.

Ensign says that process has shortchanged taxpayers by more than $12 million.

Ensign and Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., have introduced legislation that would require the BLM to auction off the land to the highest bidder rather than swap it with developers.

While the bills are making their way through Congress, Ensign wanted to freeze six Southern Nevada land swaps the BLM has under consideration.

But BLM spokesman Bob Johns said Monday the BLM opposes a land freeze and will tell Ensign that in a letter it is preparing.

The BLM, which is under Babbitt's jurisdiction, opposes a land freeze because the agency and the developers involved in the six swaps have invested significant time and money.

"We are comfortable that these six exchanges we are working on will provide for fair market value," Johns said.

Included in the six is 5,000 acres that Phoenix-based developer Del Webb wants in the southern part of the Las Vegas Valley in exchange for 3,492 acres in Moapa and Churchill counties.

Other proposed swaps, with the developers's name listed first: Lake Las Vegas, 1,200 acres in eastern Las Vegas in exchange for 85 acres in Red Rock Canyon's Calico Basin; Olympic Group Inc., 3,880 acres in western and southwestern Las Vegas for 350 acres in Lake Tahoe and the Las Vegas Wash; Carl Volkmar, 1,032 acres in western Las Vegas for 523 acres in Red Rock Canyon and on the west side of Sunrise Mountain; Falcon Point (Goodfellow), 716 acres at Railroad Pass in Henderson for 1,450 acres at Ruby Lake in Elko; and Permabilt, 165 acres in southwest Las Vegas for 5,645 acres in Clark County and Northern Nevada.

Ensign said he won't attempt an end run on the BLM by introducing a bill calling for a freeze.

With Congress set to adjourn in October, Ensign said the time for last-minute maneuverings is running out.

"It's hard to get anything through right now," Ensign said.

However, Ensign said he's confident the bills he and Bryan introduced to change the way the BLM does business will be passed by Congress and signed into law.

A stumbling block, according to Johns and Ensign, is a provision giving local governments such as the Clark County Commission authority to approve BLM land deals.

Johns said the BLM would agree to modified language allowing greater communication between the agency and local governments. But he said the BLM opposes giving local governments a rubber stamp.

"We think it is not the imperative of local governments to take a national perspective on lands that belong to all Americans," Johns said. "The goal of local governments is not to serve the national interest."

Ensign said he will push for input by local officials because they have a better feel for what's going in Las Vegas.

"Washington doesn't know as well as Las Vegas how to do things, so the exchanges should be done through consultation," he said.