Under pressure: Eldorado Valley coveted for development possibilities

Phil Hagen

Saturday, Aug. 2, 1997 | 3:34 a.m.

BOULDER CITY -- Time and time again, Boulder City has seen the future of nearby Eldorado Valley, and passed.

There were national defense proposals in the late 1950s. "Dry Lake Seen as Center of Nation's Nuclear Industries!" screamed one headline in the Boulder City News (Oct. 2, 1958).

In the '60s, developers had big ideas about using Eldorado Valley land to make Boulder the "city of the future," with light industry, 40,000 residents, even a college.

Imagine, as the county did in the '70s, making Eldorado's dry lake the next home for McCarran International Airport.

Rocket-engine testing facility, anyone? Sun City-Eldorado? Not in the '80s.

For almost four decades, the Eldorado Valley Advisory Group scrutinized proposals for developing the federal land. For almost four decades, those proposals have been rejected, scared off by lack of water or run off by public outcry.

In 1995, Boulder City took control of the 107,500 acres of federal land, making it the largest municipality in the state. Finally, after what Sen. Richard Bryan called the longest gestation period for a land sale that he'd ever heard of, Eldorado's future was decided.

It would remain the quiet valley it's always been, a buffer zone from the booming Las Vegas Valley it somehow has avoiding becoming. It was also assigned three purposes:

* 85,000 acres for a desert tortoise preserve.

* 6,000 acres of dry lake bed for public recreation.

* 3,000 acres for a solar power generating station.

"Those three uses were very specific; there was to be no deviation," said Bill Smith, a seven-year Boulder City resident.

Many of the 14,000 residents were shocked when there was. First, the City Council cleared the way for a landfill; then it approved a power plant that would use some sun but mostly natural gas.

"I felt double-crossed," said Nicky Collins, a Boulder City bartender who earlier this year helped "Dump the Dump," as well as two council members.

The power plant survived its storm, partly because a drive to put it on the ballot failed (due to technicalities, not lack of support), partly because of assurances that it won't pollute.

Still in the air, however, is this question: Will the future of Eldorado Valley ever be secure, or, as its name implies, will there always be a pursuit of its treasures?

"I don't think anything should go there that the people don't want out there," said Smith, who was elected to the council partly as a result of that pledge. "But over the short period the city has owned that land, there's already been (approval for) a landfill and power plant. It's like the camel's got his head in the tent, now it'll be one thing after another."

"That land is going to be more attractive as Las Vegas continues to grow," said Mayor Robert Ferraro, a former chairman of the Eldorado Valley Advisory Group, "and we're going to find any number of people that are going to be advancing suggestions and ideas for development for some time."

Don't look for any photo spreads of Eldorado Valley in National Geographic. The closest thing to trees are the many power-line stanchions that stretch across its barren belly. A couple of gravel pits have marred a bit of the majesty of the surrounding mountains. And the dry lake isn't exactly a great place for a picnic.

"You can hardly call it a green belt," joked Bill Harbour, a longtime resident and the city's part-time public information officer. "It's a brown belt."

But it's Boulder's belt, and most residents like how it fits.

"It gives a sense of isolation and security that people in Boulder City like," said Boulder City historian Dennis McBride.

"To me, it's a beautiful valley. It's like the surface of the moon," Collins said. "I just like it as a big, empty space."

So do outdoor enthusiasts.

Depending on the day and the weather, the area can be a hotbed of activity. There's a model-plane group that frequents the dry lake, as well as ultralight planes gliding around and skydivers dropping in. More down to earth are the many off-roaders and a few future on-roaders.

"I learned to drive there," said McBride. "A lot of Boulder kids did. You can't run over anybody."

Just steer clear of those tortoises. The threatened species, whose preserve is managed by the county, has the run of most of the valley. A joint effort by Boulder residents, Clark County, the Tortoise Group Inc. and several other parties helped establish the safe haven.

The tortoises have returned the favor by taking a big bite out of the Monopoly board.

"The tortoise preserve is signed for perpetuity," said Ferraro. "And the dry lake has been set aside for recreation, so that takes out another chunk."

Together, that's about 91,000 acres. It leaves the 3,000 acres for the power plant, which is an island in the tortoise preserve, and about 13,000 acres in change, which falls under the designation of "Government Open Space."

"That's for municipal government use," said John Sullard, who was appointed city manager recently after serving as city planner. "The question is, what is government use? The people don't want any use of an industrial nature. That's what I'm hearing.

"We bought (the Eldorado land) to preserve and enhance the quality of life in the area and as protection from Henderson and Clark County. I would think the voters want some assurances that that's gonna happen."

Councilman Smith said what's left may be safe in the near future, especially on the heels of the "dump" election, but any idea that pops up should be put in the voters' hands.

"I feel what the city owes its voters is a right of refusal of any uses in that valley," he said.

There has been some discussion among council members of putting such a vote to a vote on the next ballot. But it would be up to the citizens to lead such an initiative, Smith said.

If they go through with it, as they did in the last election on the public land-sale issue, Ferraro predicted that "it would probably pass just because the majority of the public is very concerned with what happens to that valley."

"My opinion is I don't want anything new there, and what's there I'd like taken out," said McBride, who grew up in Boulder City.

"Look at the philosophy compared to that over the hill," Harbour said. "They're proud of their growth, but there are problems. We don't want any of that.

"People come here from other places, like Southern California, who could have lived anywhere and they chose here because it's clean, green and all that stuff. ... And they want it to stay just the way it is. It's a different mentality."

One that's not as backward as Boulder's neighbors to the northwest might think, said Bob Parker, a UNLV urban sociology professor who has been studying the growth of the Las Vegas Valley for eight years.

"Boulder City has taken forward action rather than reacting. It's a good example that Las Vegas can follow."