Shopping center near Kyle Canyon?

Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2000 | 11:25 a.m.

The road up to Mount Charleston promises scenic vistas of wide-open desert, dramatic rocks and cliffs and tree-lined mountains.

Soon, it could also offer the sight of a filling station, car wash and shopping center.

Developer Kyle and Frontage is proposing the commercial development about 1,000 feet west of U.S. 95 on Kyle Canyon Road, a road that now just has scattered ranch homes and desert scrub before winding up the mountain.

The developer is seeking a Clark County zone change from rural-open land to general commercial. The Clark County Commission is scheduled to hear the proposal at Wednesday's regular zoning meeting.

Some residents strongly oppose the project, saying that it will destroy the rural character of the area. The Lower Kyle Canyon Citizens Advisory Council agreed, voting without dissent to recommend denial of the zone change.

County planning staff also has recommended against approval, although staff has noted that the proposal conforms to the long-range land use guide for the area. However, the area lacks "the full range of public services" -- water and sewer service -- that the commercial development would likely need.

But on Nov. 20, the Clark County Planning Commission approved the request, except for the car wash.

Residents living nearby the proposed shopping center say they will attend Wednesday's meeting to voice their opposition.

"This is a premature attempt to put in a commercial business -- way premature," argued Rabu Hanzalah, citizens advisory council chairman. "Our community is not situated for this kind of development.

"I think that most of the people who come to enjoy Lower Kyle Canyon come to appreciate the open land and natural terrain," he said. "We want to preserve the rural lifestyle that exists here."

Hanzalah said most of the land surrounding fewer than 200 homes and ranches on Kyle Canyon Road is part of a conservation area that extends into the Spring Mountains.

The developers and the company's representatives weren't available for comment Monday or Tuesday.

Hanzalah said that in presentations to him and the citizens advisory council, company representatives told him that that the company is seeking a slice of the busy tourist trade that goes up and down from Mt. Charleston. The mountain is a popular destination minutes away for Las Vegas residents seeking to play in the mountain snow or forests.

But Hanzalah said putting a convenience store will be dangerous for both area residents and visitors.

The area already has a reputation for speeders and drunk drivers, especially at night. Putting beer sales at the base of the mountain will make the problem worse, he said.

Residents and others who oppose the project also fear that the commercial development will open the door to more intense uses.

"Once they get one started, it'll all snowball," predicted Avril Dickinson, a 22-year resident off Kyle Canyon Road. "It's just going to make traffic that much worse."

Dickinson and Hanzalah said they have seen other proposals for commercial development in their rural area. Most, however, haven't made it out of the starting block.

But with the Clark County Planning Commission approval, the chances are better that this will get a thumbs-up from the Clark County Commissioners.

This is the second attempt to put commercial businesses in rural areas that has gone before the commissioners in as many weeks. A proposal to put commercial zoning at the intersection of Blue Diamond Road and Pahrump Highway also met with community resistance; county commissioners voted to hold consideration of that proposal until February.

Those kinds of development proposals have environmentalists, including members of the local group of the national Sierra Club, concerned.

Jane Feldman, conservation committee co-chairwoman for the group, said that the Kyle Canyon and Blue Diamond Road proposals are classic examples of "leapfrog development," encouraging sprawl beyond the boundaries of the metropolitan area.

"Every time you turn around, it's another neighborhood trying to maintain their vision of themselves," Feldman said. "This incrementalism is just wearing everybody out."

The biggest worry is that more residential and commercial development will follow the original foot-in-the-door, she said.

That's a concern shared by Carol Leduc, secretary of the Northwest Network of Neighborhoods and a commissioner on the Lone Mountain Citizens Advisory Board.

The Kyle Canyon proposal, if approved, will have "a domino effect into the rural areas all over," she said.