Editorial: Change will harm tranquility

Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2000 | 9:04 a.m.

In 1985 Augie Bustos bought 45 acres of land on Mount Potosi for $300,000. The real estate developer told the Sun's Launce Rake in a story last Friday that he has been trying to persuade the federal government to take the property in a land swap. Under this proposal, the government would take this sensitive land out of circulation and Bustos in return would receive federally owned land in Las Vegas that he could then develop. So far, though, the federal government has declined his offers. Bustos also is willing to sell the land -- for $20 million -- but hasn't been able to attract a buyer.

Now Bustos is going forward with his request that the Clark County Commission change the zoning of the land -- from rural to general commercial and light manufacturing -- so he can develop the property. Bustos wants to build a 112-room hotel, an 18-hole miniature golf course, batting cages, a man-made lake, a people-mover tramway and a water bottling plant. Bustos' application, which will be before the commission on Wednesday, has generated controversy. Mount Potosi residents, a Methodist church retreat, the operators of a Boy Scouts campground, the volunteer fire department, the Mountain Springs Advisory Council and the Clark County Commission's planning staff all oppose the zone change -- and they have good reason to do so. Not only would this significantly alter the rural character of the area, there also are substantial public safety concerns, too.

Currently there is only a narrow gravel road from State Route 160 that leads to the proposed project. Richard Draper, fire chief of the Mountain Springs Volunteer Fire Department, said that in a trial run it took a fire truck almost 40 minutes to get from the fire station to the property -- and that doesn't even include all the extra time required to round up the volunteer firefighters. Draper adds that if there were flooding or a heavy snowfall, there might be no way to get there at all. Questions also have been raised as to whether the project will require too much water; the County Commission's staff doesn't believe the local wells and septic tanks will support such an intense project. To build a tramway from the hotel to a closed mine nearby -- which is where Bustos would like to build a mine museum -- would require approval from the U.S. Forest Servic e since the people mover would cross federal land. But Bustos doesn't have a go-ahead yet, which the County Commission's staff said demonstrates that his a pplication is premature.

It's not easy anymore to find relatively unspoiled lands for outdoor recreation in the West, including here in Southern Nevada. Care should be taken, then, to preserve what few of these areas are left. There just are too many unanswered questions in the dramatic zone change request sought by Bustos. It's understandable that Bustos wants a return on his investment, but the zoning changes just aren't compatible with the area. Despite the Clark County Planning Commission's endorsement of the project, the Clark County Commission should deny this request, following the wishes of local residents and the commission's staff.