Judge insists county settle fire station spat

Adrienne Packer

Friday, Nov. 27, 1998 | 11:05 a.m.

A lawsuit filed by Spring Valley residents over the site of a planned fire station has been bounced back to the Clark County Commission, which must reconsider the issue during its Dec. 16 meeting.

District Court Judge Mark Denton did not dismiss the court case, but indicated he would rather county officials and residents settle the dispute in commission chambers, not a courtroom.

A lawsuit filed Oct. 29 by the southwest Spring Valley residents against Clark County says the neighborhood's land-use guide never indicated that a fire station would be located at the corner of Saddle Avenue and El Capitan Way.

Furthermore, residents are adamant that a fire station is not compatible with the area, which is purely residential.

"It would cause excessive noise and traffic on narrow, entirely residential streets ... it would substantially devalue homes in the area ... it would make the fire station itself difficult to find by persons in need of emergency assistance," the lawsuit says.

Commissioners approved the station and location on July 22, subject to a 60-day delay while officials of the fire department looked into switching a lease with the Bureau of Land Management to an adjacent property preferred by residents.

The association asked that the fire station be built on the northwest corner of El Capitan and Flamingo Road, the parcel the latest Spring Valley Land Use Plan indicated would be the future site of a fire station, the lawsuit says.

Representatives from the fire department are opposed to the Flamingo Road site because it would require the installation of traffic lights and because they prefer not to have stations on major arterials.

The association's lawsuit also says the county did not use the 60 days to take a serious look at the Flamingo Road property.

"As a consequence to plaintiff's belief that the defendants were not proceeding in good faith during the allotted 60 days to determine the feasibility of transferring the fire station lease to the preferred location, they retained legal counsel," the lawsuit says.

During the Dec. 16 public hearing, commissioners will hear testimony from county staff and concerned citizens.

Board members will have the opportunity to revert the zoning of the property from public facilities back to residential estates.

The Spring Valley land-use guide listed the parcel as being for residential estates, but that label is given to all county property yet to be zoned.

The county and residents will return to court Dec. 18 to hear a status report.

If the commission denies the request to return the zoning to residential estates, Denton will determine whether the county is being capricious. He may also determine whether the land-use guide was violated. On Wednesday, he ordered the county to delay construction until January.