Walters’ shopping center proposal faces debate

Monday, Jan. 27, 2003 | 9:45 a.m.

Meeting A community meeting on developer Billy Walters' proposal to build a shopping center on county land will be at 7 p.m. today at Sierra Vista High School Theater, 8100 W. Robindale Road.

The politically charged tangle involving golf course magnate Billy Walters' proposal to build a shopping center on Clark County land could come closer to settlement this week.

Walters, who received both master-plan and zoning changes to put the commercial center on 60 of 350 acres he leases from the county for golf courses, ran into controversy late last year. A majority of county commissioners have said they want to take another look at the land-use rules and could strip the zoning approval for the project next month.

Advocates and opponents will square off tonight at a community meeting at Sierra Vista High School, the school that some fear would be affected by the project.

The county's airport department holds the lease to the land at the corner of Warm Spring Roads and Cimarron Drive.

Project opponents include nearby commercial developers, who are angered by what they consider unfair competition, and neighbors at the Rhodes Ranch subdivision next door, who are concerned about additional traffic and the impact the project would have on Sierra Vista.

The point of the meeting, as directed by the commission earlier this month, is to find out what the community wants at the site, said Dionicio Gordillo, a planner in the county's development services department.

"We will be presenting some options, some alternatives," he said. "We'll discuss those alternatives and basically get input from the public."

The options range from putting a park on the site to allowing the commercial development to go forward. The county commissioners, in a 4-2 vote Jan. 8, asked for a consensus from the community on what should go on the site.

But consensus may be difficult to find. Greg Borgel, a land-use consultant representing Walters, said the developer is sticking to the original proposal to put a shopping center on the site, although Walters is amenable to looking at traffic patterns and other factors to lessen the impact.

That is not enough for some. Community activist Lisa Mayo-DeRiso said neighbors will push for a significantly reduced or eliminated commercial presence.

"We have actually had a couple of meetings with Billy Walters' people prior to this meeting, and we have gotten nowhere," she said.

Ed Nigro, a potentially competing developer who already owns a nearby shopping center, agreed.

"Mr. Walters has been conspicuous by his absence," he said. "It's very difficult to make progress in negotiations when the principal from the other side is not there."

The decision on what belongs there belongs to the county, not to Walters, Nigro said.

"He has no rights under that lease to build commercial."

Borgel, however, said the project would have to have a shopping center, a medical office complex and a golf course.

"We are happy to receive any input we can get that allows us to do those three components," he said.

The Spring Valley Town Advisory Board will take up the issue at its regular meeting Tuesday night. Gordillo said the advisory board's recommendation will form the core of the proposal that would go to the county commission -- possibly for final action -- Feb. 5.10