Editorial: Red Rock needs state protection

Friday, March 28, 2003 | 9:04 a.m.

It was disclosed Wednesday that Las Vegas developer Jim Rhodes has bought the James Hardie gypsum mine just outside the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area for $50 million. Late last year the mining company wanted to sell its 2,400 acres to developer John Laing Homes, which wanted to build 8,400 homes there, but the deal fell through after the mining company was unsuccessful in its efforts to get the land rezoned to permit high-density development.

What's interesting is that Rhodes, a high-density developer, made his decision to buy the land under the current zoning. Rhodes' purchase also comes at a time when Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, has introduced a bill in the Legislature that would permanently prevent high-density development in the Red Rock Canyon area, limiting building to just one home for every two acres. The members of the Clark County Commission, who control zoning, support Titus' legislation. Rhodes obviously is betting that he can defeat the legislation and later change the minds of the county commissioners. He's hired a top lobbyist, John Pappageorge, to make his case and his friend Erin Kenny, a former county commissioner, made a video on Rhodes' behalf that was shown to a legislative committee this week.

If a high-density housing development goes up near Red Rock Canyon it will irreparably damage the character and beauty of the area. "First it will be homes, then convenience stores, then shopping stores ... You know how the story goes," Titus said Wednesday. Indeed, we know exactly what she's talking about -- local leaders have been far too willing to let development go unchecked. While today's members of the County Commission might turn down Rhodes, a state law is needed because in another few years a different commission might favor dense development near Red Rock Canyon. Rhodes' purchase of the gypsum mine is even more reason for the Nevada Legislature to limit development near the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.