Las Vegas, Clark County battle over vacant land

Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2001 | 11:06 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Officials from Las Vegas squared off against Clark County officials today over a bill in the Legislature to allow the city to annex vacant land, mostly in the northwest area, without permission of the landowners.

Marvin Leavitt, lobbyist for Las Vegas, told a hearing of the Assembly Government Affairs Committee that the city wants to annex these parcels that are mostly surrounded by city boundaries, before development occurs. These county-controlled islands amount to about 2,300 acres and contain no homes or businesses.

In response to committee questions, Leavitt said Assembly Bill 179 does not allow the city to annex the Strip, which is developed. But he admitted that the property tax for the undeveloped land would increase by "one-sixth or one-seventh" if it was brought under city control.

He said the city has to get approval of the landowners if it wants to bring the land within the city boundaries.

But Phil Rosenquist of Clark County said the city wants to annex the property without the approval of the property owner. "This removes the voice of the property owner," he complained.

He said most of the lands being considered are in rural preservation neighborhoods. "The property owners have come to rely on the county commission to protect their lifestyles."

Assemblywoman Kathy Von Tobel, R-Las Vegas, said most of the islands are in her district. She wondered about the increase in property taxes that the owner would pay. And she said many people have homes with large areas for their horses to roam. She wondered if the city would try to annex the property where the horses are.

Chris Knight, planning manager for the city, said, "Our purpose is to preserve the lifestyle. "We're not trying to annex all the horse properties ... we're trying to be sensitive."

Leavitt said the assessed value on the land would not increase if the undeveloped land was annexed. But its property tax rate might go up 50 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. And the property would increase in value if it were developed, just as if it were developed in the county.

The assessed value of the land in question is about $45 million, Leavitt said. The purpose of annexing the land is not for the added tax revenue but "for more orderly development," he said.

Some of the land in the islands belongs to the Bureau of Land Management. Leavitt and Knight, under questioning, said the city would not try to acquire this federal land and then sell it for development. But they said they might try to get some of the land for public facilities.

Rosenquist said the county has "some concern" about the city moving its boundaries further out to take in BLM land and that needs further study.