Thursday, Oct. 9, 2003 | 11:10 a.m.
Clark County soon will have two fewer golf courses.
Developer Billy Walters and homebuilder Pulte Homes won County Commission approval Wednesday to take out two of the golf courses at Stallion Mountain Estates, a gated golf-club community, and replace them with 1,560 homes.
While the debate over the issue took more than two hours, the commissioners were not swayed by residents within and nearby the community who objected to the removal of the courses. The vote was 6-0.
Both sides came armed with what they said was the majority opinion of residents within Stallion Mountain, although land use attorney Garry Hayes, representing the opponents, said that the issue had "pretty much split" the community of about 730 homes down the middle.
Attorney Frank Schreck said that 380 homeowners had signed consent forms allowing the deal to go through. The opponents countered that at least 100 of those homeowners had tried to revoke that consent. The proponents countered that the attempt to revoke their consent wasn't legal and that the attempt came before Walters redesigned the proposal to make it more amenable to the homeowners.
Commissioner Myrna Williams, who represents the neighborhood at the center of the debate, said she was convinced that most of the residents supported the move.
"Overwhelmingly, the people in Stallion Mountain have been in support of this," Williams said.
Schreck and Attorney Chris Kaempfer, another soldier in Walters' successful effort, said the issue was simple: allow the juggling of zoning categories to go through to eliminate the two courses and build homes, or there would be no golf at all at Stallion Mountain.
The problem is that the fallout from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has hit the Las Vegas golf-course industry, all 51 courses, hard, Schreck said. Walters has $35 million due to Wells Fargo Bank in February. Without sufficient income and unable to refinance the 1997 purchase of the community, the alternative would be foreclosure on the golf courses, he said.
"There's $35 million due on this golf course February '04," Schreck said. "All three golf courses will be closed.
"We're looking at golf courses turning brown and probably being graded in 2004," he said.
Williams agreed that bankruptcy for Walters' subsidiary running the Stallion Mountain courses would be the worst outcome for the residents.
"Somebody said that bankruptcy is not relevant," she said. "I have to tell you that I think it is relevant."
One of the main reasons Williams cited in her motion to approve the rezoning, however, wasn't about money but another liquid resource.
"We would save 470 acre-feet of water a year," she said, referring to the 153 million gallons that the conversion from golf courses to homes that the plan promises to save.
Williams is a member of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, which has asked for water-use restrictions and voluntary conservation measures in response to a four-year drought that has caused water levels to plummet in Lake Mead, the source of more than 80 percent of local drinking water supplies.
"The reality is: We have to face reality," Williams said. "I understand how important it is for people to have their views, but I daresay water is more important."
Kaempfer and other representatives for Walters told the commissioners that the developer, best known for building or operating many of the region's courses, has worked hard to preserve most of those views. The proposal puts new homes beside only a handful of existing houses, and those houses are technically not part of the Stallion Mountain gated community.
Kaempfer rejected arguments from opponents that the current agreement with the residents doesn't allow homes to be built on the courses until 2008.
"That's shortsighted," he said. "2008 will be on these people before they know it."
At least one golf course will remain more-or-less permanently under the proposal approved by the commission.
The third golf course, which includes about 160 acres, was rezoned as open space with a deed restriction that prevents Walters or any future developer from trying to put more homes or commercial businesses on the land for 99 years.
"He has done everything possible to make this as palatable and comfortable as possible," Schreck said. About a dozen speakers, from a crowd of about 85 Stallion Mountain residents supporting the proposal, agreed with Schreck.
Opponents, however, were unconvinced. About 50 attended the county zoning meeting, and they argued that Walters simply was looking for a better return on his bottom line.
"This is not the first time this individual has come before this board claiming financial distress," said Hayes, who has tangled with the developer before over zoning issues. "We don't believe these homeowners should sacrifice their lifestyle to bail out Billy Walters."
Hayes and other opponents have promised to appeal the decision in court. Hayes said an ordinance passed by the County Commission earlier this year requires any such zoning proposal to restart the approval process if changes are made to the plan.
County officials, including counsel Rob Warhola, said the ordinance comes into play only if substantial changes are made.
Hayes said the ordinance does not distinguish between the relative importance of the changes.
"We think the county failed to follow their new ordinance," he said. "I think the county's made up the rules as they've gone along on this one. This is a clear-cut case."
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