County challenged to debate on NW land use

Diana Sahagun

Thursday, Oct. 4, 2001 | 9:44 a.m.

After ripping Clark County commissioners for stalling a land-use plan in the northwest, Las Vegas City Councilman Larry Brown challenged them to a public debate about their motives in the area.

Reacting to allegations by Clark County officials Tuesday that the city had hidden motives in trying to annex county land in the northwest, council members turned the tables and accused the commissioners of playing their own political games at the expense of northwest residents.

They focused their attacks on Commissioner Erin Kenny, who has publicly chided the city for attempting to annex large county islands through a legislative bill that would leave the county powerless in how the land is developed. The city for months has been working on an interlocal agreement that would have given the county a say in how land in the northwest would be developed.

That agreement, which was drafted by Commissioner Chip Maxfield with the help of City Councilmen Larry Brown and Michael Mack, was tabled by the council Wednesday, a day after the county tabled the same item in a contentious 4-3 vote.

The delay furthered a long-running battle between the city and county on how land should be developed and which government provides the most services to its residents. Kenny and Commissioners Yvonne Atkinson Gates and Mary Kincaid-Chauncey shot down the interlocal agreement, saying they questioned the city's motivations.

"The comments that (the commissioners) exhibited are the rawest form of paranoia and the last time I saw it, the mental guidelines said that's a real sickness," Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said.

Brown said the city has been working since the early 1990s to draft an agreement with the county for a seamless master plan in the northwest, only turning to legislation because a resolution could not be made.

Effective Monday, Assembly Bill 179 allows the city to annex undeveloped land that is at least 75 percent adjacent to city limits. The county, though, has threatened to challenge the constitutionality of the bill.

"Commissioner Kenny is perhaps the best at putting up a smoke screen, doing all the rhetoric, getting the quotes in the paper," Brown said. "I'm not sure she knows how to get to the northwest, and why is she sticking her nose into our business?"

Mack said the county has continually approved non-conforming uses on county islands in the northwest, which has resulted in taverns, grocery stores, and drug stores in the middle of city neighborhoods. He said an interlocal agreement is necessary so that there is a clear vision for the northwest.

"I heard (during the county's meeting) that we don't offer services," Mack said. "Well, I'd like to know what services they provide. There are no fire stations out there, there are no parks out there...I would like to know what's being provided."

Brown said if Kenny really wants to talk about the city's intent in the northwest, she should debate the issue publicly, rather than make accusations.

"There's no hidden agenda on this side," Brown said. "Erin Kenny has an agenda in the northwest and I'd like to know what it is. It's so inappropriate for her to impose her policy statements on the northwest when the two sitting City Councilmen and (Commissioner Chip Maxfield) at the county have worked so hard to get where we're at."

City Manager Virginia Valentine said it would not be productive for the city to make a counter proposal until the commissioners reach a consensus about how they want to proceed. The city can continue to annex county islands at the request of residents in the meantime, unless the county requests an injunction against the city, she said.

"We'll use this as support when we attempt to make consolidation and make it into one county and city of Las Vegas," Goodman said.