State park’s future to be debated

Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2002 | 11:11 a.m.

An open meeting on the future of Floyd Lamb State Park and open space in the Tule Springs area will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Centennial High School, 10200 Centennial Parkway.

Community members, professional planners and representatives of state, local and federal agencies will descend on a northwest Las Vegas Valley high school Wednesday to determine the fate of Floyd Lamb State Park.

Or at least begin a process that could ultimately determine the fate of the park and nearby public land referred to as the Tule Springs area.

The 2,040-acre park, 15 miles northwest of downtown off U.S. 95, is prized by many residents in northwest Las Vegas. The park includes bucolic picnic areas, lakes for fishing and a shooting range.

But a proposal -- still being studied -- that the city acquire the park from the state alarmed many nearby residents, who feared that the park would be turned into ball fields or developed commercially.

Las Vegas Councilman Michael Mack has consistently said he does not want those outcomes for the park, but Wednesday evening's meeting will be a chance for people concerned about plans for the entire northwest to get involved.

The goal, he said, is to enhance what already exists at the park through regional planning.

"The state park is a smaller part of what we want to master plan for the whole area," Mack said Monday.

That will almost certainly include more recreational opportunities near or next to the park, and putting in zoning buffers to recreational lands for the residential development that is coming in the northwest, he said.

Mack said he wants a citizens' committee to work closely with a professional planner to draw up a guide for protection and development in the state park area. The result could guide development for the northwest's open spaces for the next two decades.

"We really have a special piece of land out there," Mack said. "Let's master plan it to make sure it stays special."

The state park could be a central attribute to a larger network of federal, state and local properties tied together through trails, he said.

Mack noted that the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, with more than 1 million acres, is just a few miles from the park. Floyd Lamb State Park or nearby land could be the gateway to the huge federal wildlife areas, he said.

One of the nearby residents concerned about the future of the park and adjacent land is Ellis Greene, president of the Southern Nevada Regional Trails Partnership.

He fears residential or commercial construction could have a negative impact on the larger area, which still is mostly open desert but is increasingly targeted for growth by developers.

"The city has wanted to move and take a lot of this public land," Greene said. The danger is that could turn state or federal land into residential developments, he said.

"There are a lot of rumors and a lot of potential variables," he added.

But Greene said bringing conservationists into the planning process is a good step. It is important to bring the local, state and federal agencies into the process as well, he said.

"I applaud the fact that they are having such a meeting," he said. "I think they are contacting the right kinds of people, groups and agencies."

The trails partnership, local neighborhood activists and anyone concerned with the future of the area need to be involved, Greene said.

"We need to keep our ears open, make sure we're on the planning committee and make sure we stay on top of it," he said. "We sure don't want it to be solid houses."