Rhodes may dig deep into wallet for ditch

Adrienne Packer

Tuesday, March 21, 2000 | 11:06 a.m.

A Las Vegas developer hoping to move a planned drainage ditch from his property to boost his land value might pay a hefty price for the relocation if the Clark County Commission approves his proposal Wednesday.

Clark County planners remain adamantly opposed to Jim Rhodes' request to relocate a 100-foot drainage ditch right-of-way from the west side of Durango Drive to the east side where a high school is under construction and a park and golf course are planned.

The proposal, which has been pushed by Commissioner Erin Kenny and protested by several county department heads, has been before the zoning board four times.

Many county employees have questioned why the county would entertain Rhodes' proposal. Some believe his close relationship with Kenny, who lives in Rhodes Ranch and appeared at a staff meeting with Rhodes to advocate the project, is the reason the request continues to appear on the agenda.

County staff was further baffled when the controversial project appeared on Wednesday's consent calendar rather than the regular agenda, where it had been listed.

Rhodes acquired the 17-acre strip of property lining the west side of Durango from the Bureau of Land Management in a 1995 land exchange. The value of the land was reduced by about $186,000 with the understanding that a drainage ditch would be built on it.

Now the developer wants the flood channel relocated because of the expansion of his residential development, Rhodes Ranch.

If his proposal is passed Wednesday by the zoning board, which is made up of the commissioners, it will be loaded with conditions.

Most significantly, county planners requested that Rhodes pay all costs associated with moving the flood channel to the east of Durango between Warm Springs Road and Windmill Lane. That could include expensive infrastructure improvements such as a bridge over the ditch and fencing.

Rhodes would also be required to hire appraisers and pay the fair market value for land needed for the ditch.

The property on the east side of Durango belongs tothe BLM and must be used to benefit the public. County staff members do not believe the drainage ditch fits the "public benefit" requirement outlined by the BLM.

"Such a use does not constitute a legitimate public benefit as the channel has already been sited for a location west of Durango Drive on property previously acquired from the Bureau of Land Management," the planning report says.

County planners are requesting that Rhodes be given three weeks rather than the standard two years to record the property, obtain necessary approvals from the Army Corp of Engineers and the Clark County Flood Control District, acquire any additional property needed, appraise the land, pay the county and fund the improvements.

The channel, which is part of the Tropicana-Flamingo Wash -- a concrete drainage ditch that extends north from the new Blue Diamond detention basin -- is scheduled to be completed or under construction by fall.

"There is an awful lot of work to be done; it's an aggressive schedule," said Lesa Coder, assistant planning director.

Adrienne Packer covers county government for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-2310 or by e-mail at adrienne@lasvegassun.com