Residents opposed to school file suit

Adrienne Packer

Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2000 | 11:04 a.m.

Homeowners who vowed to stall the construction of a controversial middle school in the northwest have taken the first step by filing a lawsuit against Clark County in District Court.

The Eagle Ridge Property Owners Association is asking the court to rescind the Clark County Commission's June 21 approval of a school site at Conough Lane and Lone Mountain Road.

The lawsuit claims the board's decision to change zoning on the 20-acre parcel to "public facilities" contradicts the master plan.

Residents opposed the site for the new Leavitt Middle School because the property is in a rural preservation area where most homes are on lots of a half acre or more. They also argue that the planned school is too close to Molasky Middle School and there will be an overlap in attendance districts, the lawsuit says.

Further, homeowners claim, side roads near the school are too narrow to handle the traffic the school will create.

"The proposed use will greatly increase traffic congestion," the lawsuit says. "A ribbon of heavy traffic will be created along Lone Mountain Road because the proposed site will be accessible from only one side."

The site was chosen by the Clark County School District because it is near Molasky Middle School and the new building is expected to relieve overcrowded classrooms at Molasky. The school district paid $1.5 million for the land.

County Commissioner Lance Malone suggested several alternative properties owned by the Bureau of Land Management that could be acquired at no cost.

The alternative sites, which are also noted in the lawsuit, were not suitable to the district because of nearby utility lines or simply because no homes are near the proposed sites.

School officials have said they hope to open Leavitt by January 2002. The lawsuit, however, could delay the construction schedule.

"If the school district proceeds to build the school, the plaintiffs will be irreparably harmed..." the lawsuit says.