Complaints pour in over Webb’s land swap

Friday, July 18, 1997 | 9:12 a.m.

The Bureau of Land Management is individually answering 18 complaints filed against the recent announcement of a land swap with Del Webb Corp.

Those protesting range from Churchill County and the city of Fallon on impacts to Northern Nevada water rights to environmentalists and those with mining claims.

In May, the BLM approved the 2,535-acre exchange to allow Del Webb to build 13,000 new homes for 30,000 new residents over the next 15 years. That chunk of land is worth $31.5 million, BLM said.

In exchange, Del Webb put properties in central and Northern Nevada in federal hands for wetlands, forest and wildlife refuges.

The Del Webb proposal was so controversial, public protest forced the BLM to change its internal policy and required the developer to go through a second round of hearings.

One of the most extensive complaints has been filed by Nevada Lands Inc., which is not incorporated within this state.

Las Vegas attorney Garry Hayes, who represents Nevada Lands, said the group is incorporated in Utah. He declined to identify those involved in the group, citing attorney-client privilege.

An independent survey done by Nevada Lands estimated taxpayers will lose roughly $112 million if the exchange goes through.

Land values as offered by Del Webb are significantly lower than the acres are worth, Hayes said. "It's our hope the BLM will address these concerns," he said.

And the BLM did not follow its own policies and procedures, Hayes said. The attorney wondered if the BLM can allow a developer to phase in lands. Del Webb plans an eventual 5,000-acre community south of Las Vegas.

But Del Webb spokesman Scott Higginson, a former Las Vegas city councilman, is confident that the BLM can answer every question raised by protesters.

"We're confident the BLM is answering the concerns of those who filed protest letters," he said. "We expected it."

Environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, the Nevada Outdoor Recreation Association and the Nevada Environmental Coalition worry about those new residents driving and contributing to Southern Nevada's carbon monoxide pollution problem. A month ago the federal Environmental Protection Agency listed the area in serious non-attainment for the invisible gas, most of it coming from local tailpipes.

The Sierra Club's David Brickey said while Del Webb did a good job of addressing air pollution, the organization is still concerned about the Health District's Air Pollution Control Division approach to reducing carbon monoxide from future development.

Del Webb's residents contribute less pollution and current Sun City Summerlin residents drive two-thirds less than the rest of the population and use electric golf carts to move around the current community, Higginson said.

"There's golf cart parking at Smith's Food," he said.

Some of the land is close to a BLM wilderness study area in the McCullough Range, the north-south mountain range running from the Las Vegas Valley to the California border.

"It's a hand-drawn line by the BLM," Brickey said.

Higginson said that wilderness study area had no legal boundaries until Del Webb and the BLM surveyed and defined them.

"We have created a legal boundary for the WSA," he said, claiming the proposed development is more than a mile from the sensitive area.

The Sunridge Development, next door to the proposed Del Webb tract, protested over re-routing powerlines. Existing routes cut right through the Sunridge property, but Del Webb will add 1,600 feet extra high-voltage transmission lines to the east and west of Sunridge property, local attorney Randall Jones said.

Sunridge is also upset that Del Webb plans to use Sunridge Street as a major access road to its development, he said.

Las Vegas attorney Danny Foley represents miners claiming 12,800 acres, including 5,600 acres within the BLM exchange area.

"These exchanges are interesting devices," he said. "They do some good, but there's a lot of potential for abuse."

Del Webb has sued the miners in federal court in an attempt to invalidate the claims.

Asked if the land swap could be delayed by all the protests, BLM realty specialist Sharon DiPinto said it will take "as long as it takes us to answer these."

If protesters raise a substantial reason why the exchange should not go through, there could be a delay, she said.

"We're answering each one individually, based on the issues."