Editorial: Put safety ahead of old zoning

Friday, Aug. 9, 2002 | 9:07 a.m.

A close look at a Las Vegas Valley map reveals virtually no development in a two-mile swath of land extending southwest of the Nellis Air Force Base runways. The open space is known as the Accident Potential Zone and it's been set aside since 1986 to protect people on the ground from such incidents as in Paris two years ago when a Concorde crashed less than a minute after takeoff.

It's on the inside edge of this zone that county commissioners have approved the building of 52 single-family homes. Approval was granted despite objections from the Air Force, whose representatives have pointed out to the commissioners the potential for tragedy. Commissioners reasoned they didn't have a choice because the zoning allowing residential development for that area predates the Accident Potential Zone.

Our view is that zoning is a guide that should be followed unless there are good reasons not to. Public officials have a responsibility to weigh all the circumstances and are never obligated to vote yes if there are good reasons to vote no. Nellis has an outstanding safety record but accidents can happen. In 1964, an Air Force plane lost power shortly after takeoff and its heroic pilot, who could have ejected, instead stayed with the crippled plane in order to steer it away from Lincoln Elementary School, whose classrooms and playground were full of children. Still, the pilot and four people on the ground were killed when the plane hit homes.

If this development gets under way, other development will soon follow. There is still time for the County Commission to reconsider its approval. Why repeat the mistake of allowing high-density development near McCarran International Airport? Why take a chance on tragedy?