Developer to help build NLV fire station

Diana Sahagun

Friday, June 30, 2000 | 10:23 a.m.

A much-needed fire station could be built within two years in the northwest part of North Las Vegas as the result of a zoning change approved Wednesday by the North Las Vegas Planning Commission.

The commissioners unanimously approved an amendment to rezone 22 acres at Ann Road and Allen Lane from residential to commercial and office. The approval opens the door to a developer who already has plans for a master-planned community that would include commercial and residential areas, a bike trail and a 65,300-square-foot fire station at the site.

Perlman Architects Inc. has already drawn up a conceptual master plan showing a community with commercial sites including a 125,000-square-foot home-improvement center, 34 acres of residential and 1.5 acres set aside for a fire station. The plan has yet to be introduced to the commission.

A fire station is needed in the northwest because only one station covers one-third of the city. Station 54, at Ann Road and Camino Al Norte, is responsible for more than half of the city's population in the northwest.

Since 1998 the fire department has required all new developers to install sprinklers in single-family homes or come up with another option to address safety concerns.

During the commission meeting, city planners said the developer will not only set aside the land for a fire station but will also help build the facility.

"It may not be 100 percent built, but it is a significant contribution for us to facilitate fire needs," said Tom Bell, director of development services.

Bell said the City Council is expected to vote on the rezoning request Aug. 2, but in the meantime the city attorney's office is already drafting a development agreement with the applicant that will ensure how the land and facilities will be developed.

Bell said it is likely the development agreement will be introduced to the council July 19 in the form of an ordinance. By that time, a conceptual master plan should be introduced as well.

State law allows governments to enter into agreements for the development of property as long as it is consistent with the city's master plan.

The agreement is essentially a contract between the city and developer that will dictate specific uses for the property, City Attorney Sean McGowan said.

The statute was put in place mostly for large projects that take many years to construct, which makes certain how the land will be developed, he said. The Eldorado master-planned community has the same agreement.

The fire station is key to the agreement, Bell said, so the city's needs can be addressed.

George Garcia, president of the planning firm G.C. Garcia, Inc., said after getting final approval on engineering and construction plans it will take approximately one year to 18 months for construction to begin, with the fire station coming within two years.