Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Residents oppose Sloan heliport

Residents of Henderson's Anthem community are rallying to oppose a proposed heliport site two and a half miles from their homes at a meeting tonight at 7 at the Sun City Anthem Center.

The leaders of SHOUT, Stop Helicopters Over Urban Territory, said they hope to persuade the Clark County Department of Aviation that the disadvantages of the Sloan site outweigh the advantages the site offers as a location for commercial helicopters.

David Berman, SHOUT's communications representative, said the group expects more than 1,000 residents, along with local government authorities and representatives of the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, to protest the heliport site and promote a location in Jean as a better alternative.

"There is a strong case for placing the new heliport in the relatively unpopulated Jean area," said Dick Sovde, one of the directors for Sun City Anthem Homeowners Association. "We want to hear what the (Clark County Department of Aviation) folks have to say about their selection process, but we also want them to hear us loud and clear when we state our fears about the Sloan site and present our case for a Jean location being a win-win situation."

Residents are concerned primarily with the noise and the vibrations generated from the helicopters, especially considering how many senior citizens live in Anthem, Berman said.

The Sloan site also does not take into consideration how the unoccupied land surrounding the proposed site will be developed in the future, Berman said.

Members of the Paiute tribe fear the helicopters, which will fly over the Sloan Canyon National Conversation area, will affect their usage of the land for agricultural and ceremonial purposes, Kenny A. Anderson, cultural representative for the tribe, said.

"The vibrations could destroy some of the petroglyphs in the area," Anderson said.

The Aviation Department determined that the Sloan site was the best of three remaining options for the planned Southern Nevada Regional Heliport because of its proximity to McCarran International Airport and the Strip. The other sites, Boulder City's Eldorado Valley and unoccupied land in Jean, are too far away to be economically feasible for the operators, Aviation Director Randall Walker said.

"It's like saying we don't want a mall in our neighborhood, let's send it out to Jean," Walker said. "How many people will go out there to shop?"

Walker, who will be on hand to answer questions tonight, said the impact on Henderson residents will be minimal compared to the current impact on residents near McCarran who regularly endure helicopters flying over their homes.

The proposed flight path out of Sloan, even when the land is farther developed, will still be a mile and a half away from any home, Walker said.

Favil West, who co-directs the Sun City Anthem Homeowners Association, said choosing the Sloan location will only re-create the problem residents near McCarran have had.

"Our goal is not to say, 'Not in my back yard,' " West said. "We are trying to find a solution that works for everybody."

A regional heliport site is mandated by state law for Clark County's population, but it is also desperately needed, Walker said. The cost of operation at McCarran will soon be too high for most of the helicopter companies to afford, and the Henderson and North Las Vegas airports cannot handle the additional flights.

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