Editorial: Protect rural heritage that is Blue Diamond

Friday, Dec. 13, 2002 | 4:55 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION: Dec. 15, 2002

The 300 residents of Blue Diamond had the scare of their lives earlier this year when John Laing Homes made headway with a proposal to add 8,400 houses to their midst. Reason prevailed after some tense town meetings and the proposal was withdrawn. Now Clark County is moving to protect Blue Diamond from such incompatible proposals.

Clark County's first choice, and ours too, would be for the federal government to buy the 3,000 acres atop Blue Diamond Hill that had been the intended site for Laing's development. The acreage, even though surrounded by federal land, is owned privately because it had been a gypsum mine before being sold to Laing. The Bureau of Land Management is hesitant about the county's request for a federal purchase because it fears high reclamation costs after decades of mining. Nevertheless, we believe this island of private land belongs in federal hands for two reasons -- it would protect Blue Diamond and serve as a buffer protecting the Red Rock National Conservation Area.

The county also has a backup plan. Staffers have proposed a zoning ordinance that would protect the ridgelines of Blue Diamond Hill and limit building on the remaining acreage to one home per two acres, as compared to Laing's proposal of nearly four homes for every one acre. It isn't ideal, but it's not the scare of your life either.