Mounting a deal

Adrienne Packer

Tuesday, Aug. 10, 1999 | 11:27 a.m.

Just one year ago when Las Vegas developer Allen Nel pitched what he thought was an ideal project for the forest-blanketed Mount Charleston -- a Western-themed village complete with hay rides and a petting zoo -- residents objected.

And it didn't take long for homeowners atop the peaceful mountain to circle their wagons and quash Nel's project.

Now what appeared to be the residents' worst nightmare could be a dream come true.

Fearing Nel might file a lawsuit against Clark County, Commissioner Lance Malone has started working with Nel and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., to see whether the federal government could buy the Mount Charleston property and turn it over to the county.

Since July 1998 when the Clark County Commission overturned an earlier vote to change the zoning on Nel's land from residential-countryside to commercial, the developer has threatened to file a lawsuit.

"The risk we take if we don't buy the property and he takes us to court, we could lose," Malone said. "If we lose, we could also lose the environmental sensitivity of Mount Charleston."

Malone said even if Nel has given up on hopes of building a commercial center on his 30-acre parcel -- which is across from the Mount Charleston Hotel on Kyle Canyon Road -- nothing stops him from selling the land to another developer.

The deal Malone is trying to negotiate includes 157 acres of Nel's property. Aside from the 30 acres, Nel owns property east of the hotel where he has started a complex that will include an ice-skating rink, miniature golf course and retail shops. Nel also owns the nine-hole Mount Charleston Golf Course.

"We wouldn't allow any construction on the north side, and we would get the other property in tip-top shape to make it something that would be a pleasure for anybody to utilize," Malone said. "Right now it's just an eyesore for Mount Charleston residents."

Swapping private property for federally owned land or getting the federal government to buy private property is a common method used to save environmentally sensitive land.

Malone said as long as land along Kyle Canyon Road -- the highway leading into the community -- is privately owned, it will be seen by developers as land ripe for commercial development.

"Mount Charleston is as environmentally sensitive to us as Lake Tahoe is to northern residents. It is heavily utilized by tourists," Malone said. "Everybody looks at Tahoe, Tahoe, Tahoe. Now it is time to turn our attention to Mount Charleston."

Nel, who was stunned by the community's reaction to his plans last year, realizes it is unlikely a commercial development will ever be embraced on Mount Charleston and is willing to discuss selling his property, according to his spokesman, Tom Letizia of Letizia Ad Team.

Letizia said Nel has offered the county and the federal government the 157 acres for $12 million or about $92,000 an acre. The figure is the appraised value of the land. If the value of the buildings was included, the price would be $18 million, Letizia said.

"It's a bargain price," he said. "It's going to be hard to find land like that for that price."

Letizia said because the property is zoned mixed use, it is worth less than $100,000 an acre. If Nel had received the commercial zoning he sought last year, the value would have skyrocketed to $175,000 per acre, he said.

Nel's property north of Kyle Canyon Road was zoned residential when he purchased it, but in 1996 master plan amendments changed its listing to commercial in the land use guide. Board members said they agreed to the change because they thought the property was ideal for a horse boarding facility. A commercial complex was not their intention.

"Nel felt confident, and he still feels confident that he could win a lawsuit that would end up costing the county millions of dollars," Letizia said. "That would be good for no one."

Malone said he has the support of Reid, who is looking into the deal. If the federal government purchased the land and transferred it to the county, it would be overseen by the parks and recreation division.

Malone said the 30 acres across from the Mount Charleston Hotel could be made into a park with jogging trails. The nine-hole golf course would become the area's first county-operated course.