North Las Vegas: Council forced to reconsider proposal to rezone near airport

Sonya Padgett

Tuesday, July 20, 1999 | 10:05 a.m.

After a District Court judge July 12 fined the city $500 for not awarding building permits to a developer who wants to build on 125 acres of shifting soil near the airport, the City Council will vote again on the developer's request.

The council on Wednesday will consider an application submitted by Saxton Inc. to rezone land near Coleman Street and Evans Avenue for a development of apartments, houses, condominiums and warehouses.

The City Council denied the proposal in July 1997 after airport officials expressed concerns that the dwellings would be too close to the main runway, causing problems for residents. Members of the council were also worried that the land was unstable and wouldn't support a development.

Saxton Inc. took the city to court, claiming that their request was unlawfully denied because the plans fit within the master plan in effect at that time.

Earlier this year, District Court Judge Valorie Vega ruled in Saxton's favor and ordered the city to grant the building permits at the next meeting.

Vega ordered the city to pay Saxton attorneys $500 for their inconvenience because two council meetings had passed with no reference to the Saxton application. She warned that the issue had better be on Wednesday's agenda or she would hold city officials in contempt of court.

The city will appeal Vega's decision to the Nevada Supreme Court, North Las Vegas city attorney Richard Maurer said, asking that Vega's ruling be overturned because the proposed development is so close to the airport.

The land in question is east of the airport and north of Windsor Park, a neighborhood that has been sinking into the ground since it was constructed in 1969.

The land was previously zoned as residential, Maurer said, but was rezoned to commercial due to the growth of the airport.

"You don't put houses at the end of a runway," Maurer said.

Many are concerned over the ability of the land to hold developments, as nearby Windsor Park has been sinking for decades and the city, utilizing a federal bail-out program, is in the process of relocating residents.

Saxton has proposed removing dirt and replacing it to make the ground more stable. City engineers, Maurer said, don't feel the land can be fixed.

Despite concerns over the airport or the soil problems, the city has been ordered by the court to allow Saxton to build his development and will comply with that ruling unless the Supreme Court overturns it, Maurer said.