Coyote Springs plan defended

Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2001 | 9:44 a.m.

Someone will develop Coyote Springs Valley about 50 miles north of Las Vegas and it should be a responsible company, representatives of a developer said.

Coyote Springs Investments seeks to build upscale residential communities in the valley that straddles the Clark County-Lincoln County line. The company on Tuesday held the first of two "scoping" meetings designed to gain feedback on environmental issues that could block development of the 42,000-acre project.

Robert Derck, Coyote Springs Investments general manager, said his company is voluntarily scheduling the meetings during a 60-day comment period before drafting a required environmental impact statement on the project.

He said the company, headed by influential state lobbyist Harvey Whittemore, is committed to a project that will have minimal negative impact on the sparse high-desert ecology of the target area. Other companies might not have the same commitment, Derck said.

But some of the dozen or so people who attended the meeting, hosted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, expressed concern about the project's impact.

"I think they're kidding themselves to say they're going to put in a 50,000-home development in an ecologically sensitive area without destroying the natural habitat," said Sheila Stirling, a Las Vegas resident who works for a construction company. "It has the potential to destroy a whole desert ecosystem, an already strained ecosystem."

The project faces several hurdles before any construction can begin. The developer must submit an environmental impact statement and draft a plan to protect the habitats of several indigenous species, including the threatened desert tortoise.

If those documents pass muster with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the developer still must find water for the 50,000 homes proposed for the project. The company has proposed using underground water at the site, but faces competition for the same water from the Las Vegas Valley Water District.

Environmentalists fear that using the water could deplete springs in nearby areas, affecting rare birds, plants and animals in the region.

Derck said his company has an extensive plan to drill test wells and monitor the impact the draw-off has on the local environment. The testing could help answer a longstanding question for the area: How much water is there.

State Engineer Hugh Ricci is evaluating the competing claims for groundwater in the Coyote Springs area and could make a decision on who gets the water, and how much they will get, next year.

But environmentalists have other concerns. One of the issues that is likely to affect the environmental impact statement is transportation, especially for commuters working at the site that would come and go from Las Vegas. More traffic means more tailpipe emissions polluting the air.

But Derck said development of the project would be over a period of years and eventually include affordable housing within Coyote Springs, limiting the amount of traffic to the city.

Janet Bair, Fish and Wildlife habitat plan coordinator, said people can contact her office to comment on the proposed development. Those with concerns also will have other opportunities to comment.

Bair said after Coyote Springs Investments prepares the environmental impact statement and habitat plan, her agency will solicit more comments from the public. Those comments can affect her agency's approval of those documents and the final project, she said.