Blue Diamond residents to hear controversial subdivision plan

Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2002 | 9:23 a.m.

Developers will take the arguments for a controversial proposal to build a 20,000-person subdivision on top of a hill to the tiny town of Blue Diamond tonight.

John Laing Homes will face a crowd that is at best dubious about the prospects of putting 8,400 homes on top of what is known as Blue Diamond Hill. Not only will the developers face opposition from some Blue Diamond residents, but enthusiasts of the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area have been organizing in opposition to the plan.

The development, which would be surrounded on three sides by the conservation area, needs county approval as a major project. The development plan also depends on a trade with the federal Bureau of Land Management.

The developers may face the ire of Blue Diamond residents tonight, but the ultimate decision-makers on the issue are likely to be Clark County commissioners, who could get the issue on their zoning docket next month. But the arguments at Blue Diamond, before the Red Rock Citizens Advisory Council, are likely to be a warm-up for the county commission hearings.

County planning staff members have said they will look for developers to explain how they can mitigate the impact on the environment and the town of Blue Diamond, at the southern edge of Red Rock Canyon. Planners have said privately that they are dubious that the developers can avoid huge impacts on the area.

The developers were not available for comment Tuesday night, but have said they believe that they can keep the upscale homes on the hilltop hidden from most of the Las Vegas Valley, the Red Rock Canyon scenic loop and Blue Diamond. They also argue that the trade with the BLM will provide important habitat for environmental protection.

Services for the new development, including a four-lane highway, would mostly be from the east side of the hill and would be paid for by the developers, according to their arguments. The town is on the west side of the hill, and the Red Rock scenic loop is to the north.

But a skeptical Evan Blythin, chairman of the Red Rock Citizens Advisory Council, said he does not believe the developers can successfully mitigate the impact.

He pointed out that the new development would dwarf his town of about 300 people. Light pollution and drainage would scar the surrounding desert, Blythin said.

"There's just no way it would not affect the canyon," he said. "How do you mitigate those kind of things? I don't see anyway that they can say that 8,400 homes will not adversely impact Red Rock Canyon."

The citizens advisory council, which advises the county commission on land use issues, is scheduled to hear the developers make their pitch at 7 tonight at the community hall in Blue Diamond's town center. Blythin said the council could vote to recommend denying or approving the proposed development Aug. 28.