Council approves Big Horn RV park

Lisa Snedeker

Wednesday, Feb. 17, 1999 | 11:04 a.m.

Henderson may soon be home to its first RV park.

The City Council on Tuesday turned back the objections of neighboring Levi Strauss and approved the Big Horn RV Park at 1250 Paradise Hills Pkwy., formerly known as Foothills Drive, in the Mission Hills Planning Area.

The 40-acre upscale park would be adjacent to the proposed Big Horn hotel-casino, approved by the council late last year. Both projects would be located next to the proposed Margheritaville hotel-casino.

City officials hope the area, originally zoned for industrial uses, will serve as a gateway for those traveling into Henderson from Arizona or Laughlin.

Frank Ellis, spokesman for the 609-unit project, told the council his family wanted to be able to use the property as tourist-commercial, just as it is zoned.

"We're only applying for a use permit," he said.

Chris Yergensen, a spokesman for Levi Strauss, which has a distribution center that abuts the property, said that the company does not feel an RV park is an appropriate use for the area next to the Wagon Wheel Industrial Park.

"We have a few concerns, in particular, the RV park as a stand-alone facility," he said.

Ellis countered that Big Horn should be the one to decide if the project would be viable on its own.

"We've been here since 1951," he said. "I think we can make that decision if it can't make it."

The council did not honor Yergensen's request to require the RV park be built in conjunction with the hotel-casino.

Levi Strauss expressed concerned that the park will devalue the distribution warehouse facility, which it plans to sell when the company finishes relocating to its new facility near the Henderson Executive Airport, Yergensen said.

"We still feel a high-quality industrial park is viable in this area," he said.

Scott Eaton, a spokesman for the nearby proposed Black Mountain Studios project, added the studio developers have the same concerns.

Ellis said he thought it was inappropriate for the studios to be against a project that also would attract visitors to the area.

"We're not asking to build a trash park," he said. "We don't want to build a trash park."

Conditions on the park include a 120-day limit for park users, 24-hour security, an on-site caretaker, three 30,000-square-foot parks and no return guests within 30 days.