Developer asks city, county to give up land

Judy Odierna

Monday, Jan. 20, 2003 | 10:57 a.m.

A private developer is asking Las Vegas and Clark County to relinquish a 20-acre parcel of land in the northwest part of the valley for private development.

The parcel belongs to the Bureau of Land Management, which leased the property to the city in 1999. The land, located off of Ann Road and Jensen Street between Hualapai Way and Grand Canyon Drive, is in an unincorporated part of Clark County. The city got the lease in hopes of annexing the parcel one day and turning it into a park.

Tryge Simpson of JT Wasatch Development is requesting the city and county both relinquish the land and nominate it for a November BLM land auction.

The city's Real Estate Committee is scheduled to discuss the matter at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.

Simpson could not immediately be reached for comment.

"The city and the county were very aggressive the past four to five years in obtaining public sites not just for parks but for other public purposes," Las Vegas Councilman Larry Brown said. "There is so much BLM land. There is no possible way the city or the county could use all that land for open space. It is inevitable that all these lands, within the next 20 years, are going to be developed."

David Roark, manager of real estate and assets for the city, said Simpson also asked for two other parcels in the area. One was already up for auction and the other request was denied.

"We've never had any funding for a park at that location," Roark said of the 20 acres. "Even before the interlocal agreement it was not on our priority list."

The city and county entered into an interlocal agreement in early 2002 that would help govern the development of northwest Las Vegas. The main point of the agreement would be to limit commercial and high-density residential encroachment into largely rural neighborhoods in the area. The city, while providing services like sewer and water in the area, would be unable to annex certain parcels.

Brown said the agreement also helps protect just what kind of private development is placed there.

"If it does get auctioned off then government has control over mandating that half-acre homes be built there," Brown said. "This particular piece says no more than two units per acre. The interlocal agreement protects that."

Donna Tagliaferri, chairwoman of the Lone Mountain Citizen Advisory Council and a resident of the area, said she is grateful for the agreement but sad to hear the area would not gain a park.

"The interlocal agreement is wonderful because it protects us from all kinds of things," Tagliaferri said. "But in situations like this, there are not enough parks."

Currently there are two parks in the area, Mountain Crest Park, 4701 N. Durango Dr., and Lone Mountain Park, 4445 N. Jensen St.

John Schlegel, director of comprehensive planning for the county, said the county does not have any interest in taking the BLM land from the city for a park because it was not part of their parks master plan for that area.

County officials say they have applied for about 285 acres on Lone Mountain itself for a regional park. Adjacent to the 285 acres north of Lone Mountain Road and Hualapai Way there is an additional 30 acres set aside for parks, and another 50 acres across the street from that. The county has another 75 acres leased at Puli and Ann Road.