Editorial: Delay OK, but vote must be no

Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2002 | 10:09 a.m.

Developers facing sharp criticism of their projects from affected residents generally signal for a time-out before proceeding with a public vote. They ask city or county elected officials to delay their vote for a couple of weeks so meetings can be arranged with the residents. The idea is to come away with a compromise so there will be a greater chance of their project being approved. This is all very normal and in most cases quite unremarkable.

The delay that will be sought by John Laing Homes regarding its plans for Blue Diamond Hill, however, is highly remarkable because we see no possibility of a compromise ever being reached. The developer is proposing to transform a gypsum mine into a sprawling master-planned community at the gateway to the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The vision is to build 8,000-plus homes on more than 2,600 acres. Twenty-thousand people would call Blue Diamond Hill their home. The thoughts of Blue Diamond, the hamlet below, as a rural area, as home to 300 residents and as a scenic view on the way to Red Rock, would exist only as a memory.

Last week the Red Rock Citizens Advisory Council voted unanimously in favor of a recommendation to deny the project. The vote was predictable, as hundreds of people had jammed meeting rooms previously to oppose the project. The Clark County Planning Commission is the next public body scheduled to vote on the project, and it is this vote that John Laing Homes now says it will seek to delay. The architect for the developer said a delay of 15 to 30 days will be sought.

The Clark County Planning Commission customarily grants delays and should grant one in this case if requested. But a delay is sometimes used more as a tactic than as an opportunity to reach consensus. One delay can stretch into two or three or more, and, eventually, opponents will be worn out or an intervening election will change the development's prospects. Given the degree of opposition that this proposal has so far generated among Clark County residents, the prospects of a compromise are zero. We hope the Planning Commission -- and the Clark County Commission, which has the final say on the proposal -- will recognize what's occurring if delays are sought for tactical reasons. Whatever the date of a vote on this project, it should be voted down. Blue Diamond and Red Rock Canyon should be forever protected from developments of this scale.