Airport land deals concern county

Adrienne Packer

Thursday, Feb. 7, 2002 | 9:56 a.m.

Clark County leaders are threatening to permanently cease land swaps and auctions involving property controlled by McCarran International Airport if clearer policies aren't presented.

Commissioners are frustrated by the process in which property in the cooperative management area -- restricted land beneath the airport's flight paths -- is being handled.

Board members are concerned the outcome of auctions and land swaps negotiated by airport officials may not serve the best interests of the community or county.

A zone change request pitched to the board Wednesday hardly allayed those concerns.

Real estate brokers GKT Acquisitions knowingly acquired property zoned "open space," in a 2000 land swap with the airport. On Wednesday attorneys requested the zoning designation be changed to allow an industrial park.

The board voted 6-0 to deny the request, siding with residents who own custom homes adjacent to the project site between Sunset and Post roads.

Chris Kaempfer, an attorney representing GKT Acquisitions, claimed the brokers were misled by the airport. He said his clients gave up $650,000 worth of land for property commissioners ruled cannot be developed.

"The airport is charging $17,000 an acre for land you can basically lie on?" Kaempfer said.

Commissioners pointed out that GKT knew about a third of the 80 acres it acquired from the airport was labeled open space -- a designation that allows no permanent structures -- in the Spring Valley Master Plan.

Last month, Scott Gragson of GKT Acquisitions repeatedly reminded the board of the 17 land exchanges his company has negotiated with the airport. Board members said Wednesday that, based on its experience, GKT should have known the risks.

"No one at the airport forced your client to take the parcel," Commission Chairman Dario Herrera told Kaempfer.

Aviation Director Randy Walker, who oversees the land deals, told the board by phone that the buyers were told the land wouldn't be worth much unless the zoning is changed. He added that $17,000 per acre was inexpensive for the area.

"I'm confident our staff made it clear what the master plan was, so when the buyers bought it they did it with their eyes wide open," Walker said.

Kaempfer finally withdrew his proposal and told the board he planned to learn whether the airport would take back the 25 undevelopable acres.

For each transaction conducted by the airport the county receives 10 percent of the proceeds, the federal government gets 85 percent and 5 percent is given to schools.

Commissioners began questioning the process when the airport was recommending land swaps over huge cash offers for property. Last month, concerned about potential legal action, they asked that deals be temporarily halted until a policy is in writing.

The airport has since been given until the end of February to come up with a policy on how to dispose of the land or the practice will cease, sources said.

"This board, in my opinion, has not been too involved in transactions as it relates to the disposal of land," Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates said.

"When we first acquired this land from the feds, I specifically requested that the zoning staff be intimately involved in all the land out at the airport. I know the zoning staff wants to be involved, but it has not happened."

Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey questioned whether the airport was fair when it traded land to GKT Acquisitions for property that cannot be developed. She said land zoned "open space" should no longer be part of swaps.

"If it had been a private party and not a government who sold this undevelopable land for $17,000 an acre, they would call it fraud," Kincaid-Chauncey said.

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