Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2003 | 10 a.m.
Hundreds of southwest Las Vegas residents raised their hands Monday night in solid support for public golf courses or a park near their Rhodes Ranch community.
The community meeting conducted by Clark County Development Services attracted about 250 residents concerned about a land deal that last December gave golf course magnate Billy Walters the right to build a 700,000-square-foot shopping center on property at Warm Springs and Cimarron roads.
The land is owned by the county, but is leased to Walters. Originally, the 250-acre lease was for golf courses, but Walters successfully sought a change to the Spring Valley master plan, then zoning approval for the shopping center and an adjacent office complex.
The move, supported by two county commissioners who left office in January, helped spark a reform movement that promises to strengthen the county's master plans. Already, the new County Commission is poised to reject the decision made last month.
Jan. 8, a month after Walters received zoning approval for his shopping center, the new board voted 4-2 to revisit the area's master plan -- and potentially scuttle the shopping center.
The County Commission directed staff to hold a series of public meetings on the issue, including Monday night's meeting at Sierra Vista High School, across the road from the proposed commercial development.
Many of the residents said they felt let down by a master-plan amendment process that did not seem to include them.
"These things were all representations that we relied on when we bought our homes," said Dan Lowell, a Rhodes Ranch resident.
He said developers such as Walters are taking advantage of the process.
"Tell them anything to get your foot in the door, then do whatever you can to make a buck," Lowell said.
Walters came to the meeting to defend his project and his reputation. He said the impetus for developing the land came from the county and St. Rose Dominican Hospital, which plans to build a new hospital across Warm Springs.
"I have been portrayed as some heavy-handed juice guy ... trying to circumvent the process," he said, but added that he has scrupulously followed the county-required process for getting the master-plan and zone changes.
"We have done everything in our power to do this thing within the process we were given," Walters told the crowd.
However, many in the crowd said they felt the process did not allow enough community input. One of those who hit on the theme was Ed Nigro, a competing developer and one of the loudest voices in opposition to the project.
"We're here because none of us thought the process was right and we didn't get, so to speak, our day in court," Nigro said.
In response to a request from one speaker, residents at the meeting who wanted the land-use designation to go back to "public facility," suitable for golf courses or parks, raised their hands. They formed an overwhelming majority.
The issue goes tonight to the Spring Valley Town Advisory Board, which essentially will consider a half-dozen options on what to do with the land. Those options range from letting Walters develop his planned commercial property to changing the land-use guide to a park.
Dionicio Gordillo, a county planner, explained that the recommendation from the town board will go to the Clark County Planning Commission, which also serves as an advisory board, and ultimately to the Clark County Commission, the county's final authority, next week.
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