RVs may be moving into Henderson neighborhood

Lisa Snedeker

Friday, Jan. 15, 1999 | 11:44 a.m.

The Henderson Planning Commission paved the way Thursday for the city's first RV park.

But it was a bumpy ride.

With 4-3 votes, the commission twice denied the Bighorn RV park before it reached a compromise and approved it 4-3. The 40.5-acre project at 1250 Paradise Hills Parkway is in the Mission Hills Planning Area.

Among the commissioners' concerns was the possibility that the 609-unit, upscale park would be built without the adjacent proposed Big Horn hotel-casino, which was approved by the City Council in December. Both projects would be adjacent to the proposed Margheritaville hotel-casino.

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

Frank Ellis, spokesman for the project, convinced the commission to drop a condition recommended by staff that stated construction on the RV park could not commence unless construction on the hotel-casino had begun.

"It is not required or necessary," he said. "Our intent is to build a destination park. It doesn't need a casino to feed it."

Ellis added, however, the plan is to build both projects.

A spokesman for Levi Strauss, which has a distribution center that abuts the property proposed for the RV park, voiced the company's objection to the park, specifically mixing commercial traffic with recreation vehicles.

Commissioners also were worried about people calling the RV park home and some pushed for a 30- or 90-day time limit on guests. Commissioner Kenneth Lamb, however, explained that in order to attract retired snowbirds to the park, the 120-day limit they finally settled on was needed to ensure the park's success.

Other conditions include 24-hour security, an on-site caretaker and three 30,000-square-foot parks and no return guests within 30 days.

The RV park proposal will be forwarded to the City Council for final approval.