Save Red Rock effort picks up James’ support

Monday, March 31, 2003 | 9:19 a.m.

Under the bright sunshine and dramatic hillsides of Red Rock Canyon, protesters got good news Saturday on their effort to derail development a few miles away.

State Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, told the crowd of about 150 people that she believes she has the votes in Carson City to pass her bill that would freeze existing zoning on Blue Diamond Hill, where workers now mine gypsum but some fear could become home to subdivisions.

The people at the Save Red Rock rally also received new support from Clark County Commissioner Mark James, who now says he will not oppose Titus' bill and will introduce an ordinance locally to mirror her bill.

Blue Diamond Hill is surrounded on three sides by the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, and has for two years been the center of concerns about proposed development in the area.

Red Rock, just a few miles outside the urban area and a place known for its sweeping vistas and accessible hiking trails, is a favorite day trip for both Las Vegas residents and visitors.

"It took 600 million years for Mother Nature to create Red Rock," Titus said. "It takes one developer to destroy it, and one vote to preserve it."

Donna Rainone, James' community liaison, said at the rally that James -- the commissioner who expressed the most concern about the Titus bill several weeks ago -- would also introduce the long-delayed Red Rock overlay ordinance, which would set new development standards throughout the conservation area and Blue Diamond Hill.

Titus, sporting a large round "Save the Canyon" button, said she still needs people to support her bill because what the County Commission can do it can easily undo.

Community activists who have supported both the county and state measures echoed the sentiment.

"The state legislation has the biggest teeth," said Pauline van Betten, who helped write the rules in the overlay ordinance and strongly supports the Titus bill.

Van Betten and other activists -- environmentalists, bicycle riders, hikers and the citizens of the village of Blue Diamond -- capped a busy week with the rally. Last Wednesday lobbyists for Las Vegas developer Jim Rhodes announced he had purchased 2,400 acres on top of Blue Diamond Hill for $50 million.

A day later James had spoken to a sometimes angry crowd of residents at Blue Diamond and said he still was not sure where he stood on the Titus bill or on development in general on top of the adjacent hill.

But comments by Titus, Assemblyman David Parks, D-Las Vegas, and Outside Las Vegas Foundation Executive Director Alan O'Neill on Saturday put a spark in the opposition to high-density development in the area. Organizers said they gathered several hundred petition signatures in support of Titus' bill and the county proposals.

Both Titus and Parks predicted that the bill would pass if it gets to the floor of the Legislature and to Gov. Kenny Guinn.

Lynn Billingsley, one of the organizers of the ad hoc group working on the issue, said postcards and letters will now be directed to Sen. Ann O'Connell, R-Las Vegas, who is Senate Government Affairs Committee chairwoman, to bring the bill out of committee.

Titus' bill would freeze zoning at one house per 2 acres, leaving enough room for a possible 1,000 homes on the mined-out areas.

Her zoning would not block all development, but would stop the kind of high-density development proposal unsuccessfully forwarded last year. A proposal by developer John Laing Homes called for about 8,400 homes. Environmentalists, Red Rock users and Blue Diamond residents rapidly mobilized to stop that proposal.

Rhodes said last week that he has not decided what to do with the property but will continue to mine gypsum, a material used for drywall construction, for the time being. But those who fought last year's proposal expect Rhodes to eventually seek to develop the property.

County planners and federal Bureau of Land Management officials, who manage Red Rock Canyon, have said they expect that the developer will have to seek high-density zoning to cover the $50 million price tag for the property.

The crowd at the rally chanted "Red Rock yes, Rhodes Ranch no!" at several intervals.

Ed Rothfuss, a Sierra Club member and one of the speakers at the rally, called on people to support the state and local efforts. He said an ongoing petition drive, calls and letters to the political leadership are critical.

"We've got to let all these people know what our vision of Red Rock is and how to preserve it."