County aiming to apply zoning lessons to Pinnacle Peaks project

Adrienne Packer

Tuesday, Nov. 3, 1998 | 11:03 a.m.

Enterprise area residents are bracing themselves for a County Commission decision on a new development that could double the population of their small, southwest Las Vegas community.

The commission, acting as the zoning board, will consider Wednesday changing the zoning of more than 700 acres from rural estates to commercial and residential designations.

Despite the planning division's recommendation to deny the project, which is expected to add some 5,000 new residential dwellings to the area, the Planning Commission recently approved it.

The Pinnacle Peaks development is similar to the Silverado Ranch project, which was assembled piecemeal without the county studying the entire development and its impact on services and facilities.

But county officials said they have learned from their mistakes and will approach Pinnacle Peaks differently.

"Planning put the pieces together this time and said, 'time out,' " said Jory Stewart, the county's comprehensive planning manager. "We determined in that area there was the likelihood of the Silverado situation happening all over again."

A decision on the controversial development was delayed last month and placed on the agenda Wednesday, the day after Election Day.

Planners intend to recommend commissioners only approve the project -- which is bordered by Warm Springs, Rainbow, Pebble Road and the railroad tracks -- with certain conditions attached.

Collins Brothers developers were asked to reduce the proposed density of the housing developments.

Clark County planner Mario Bermudez said the county recommended that 67 acres be used for multifamily housing like apartments and condominiums; the developers are proposing 160 acres.

The county recommended 123 acres for commercial development; the developers proposed 150 acres. The county asked that 340 acres be used for homes and only 248 were proposed.

"The reason we recommended denial is because it's premature for this type of development," Bermudez said, adding that the area does not have the adequate infrastructure and services to serve that size of development.

If the commission is to approve the project, planners are asking that developers be required to install infrastructure that would not only accommodate their project, but subdivisions and commercial centers that may come along in the future.

In addition, Collins Brothers will be asked to assist with transportation improvements such as railroad overpasses or interchange work not necessarily in the immediate area, but on a regional scale.

The company likely would be required to secure sites for schools and contribute toward the augmentation of existing fire stations.

"We need to show the state we're able to plan for growth and we're looking at it on a regional scale rather than a micro-scale," Stewart said. "We have improved Silverado, but we reacted to growth rather than anticipating growth."

Collins Brothers developers are pursuing 13 zone changes that don't conform with the outdated master plan written in 1992.

The difference between Pinnacle Peaks and previous major community developments is the owners were willing to present the entire plan, not just seek approval for pieces at a time, said Assistant City Manager Bonnie Rinaldi.

"With Pinnacle Peaks, the developer came to us so we could treat it as a major project and do the overall planning of the infrastructure and arrange for funding," Rinaldi said. "The owner came in and said hey, how about we plan together."

Collins Brothers, who declined to be interviewed for the story, have lowered the density of some neighborhoods, although it still is not to the county's satisfaction. They are also negotiating a development agreement.

The agreement will detail the cumulative impact the 720-acre Pinnacle Peaks development will have on the community when it is completed.

The document should say how Collins Brothers intend to address county concerns like how it plans to extend a water main that is one mile from the project site.

The county said the project will negatively impact the three schools -- Durango High School, Grant Sawyer Middle School and Marion Earl Middle School -- which are already too crowded.

"The reason we never did it this way before is it's hard to have uniform control of a project when it's not touching," Rinaldi said of the development agreement and mini land use plan. "We're looking for a uniform, consistent project like Summerlin."

The county may be taking a new angle on developments just in time.

Last month, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that allows the Bureau of Land Management to sell property at auctions rather than through land exchanges.

Previously, developers sold wilderness land to BLM for developable property in the valley. County officials were never privy to the transactions until developers applied for zone changes, action needed before land is sold or built upon.

Because BLM owns more than 90 percent of the land in Clark County, planners are preparing for more and more development proposals in rural, under-serviced regions.

"Land exchanges have already changed the face of Enterprise," Stewart said. "It will be more piecemeal if we don't put the tools in place so that we can analyze an area comprehensively like we're doing with Pinnacle Peaks.

"We're trying to transition from how we used to do things piece by piece by piece. We need to look at it in connection to the region and how we're going to serve it. We need to get ahead of the curve instead of behind it."