Henderson, NLV residents join forces

Dan Kulin

Friday, Jan. 16, 2004 | 11:06 a.m.

Although they live on opposite ends of the Las Vegas Valley, neighbors of the North Las Vegas Airport and residents closest to a proposed heliport site south of Henderson are joining forces to fight for peace and quiet around their homes.

The airport neighbors are fighting for restricted operating hours and fewer flights at the airport, and they've got the backing of a state lawmaker who is pushing legislation to help them.

Residents of Sun City Anthem in Henderson are worried that a regional heliport for Grand Canyon tour operators will open in Sloan, about 2 1/2 miles from the closest Anthem home. They note that their concerns parallel those of North Las Vegas residents.

By joining together "there's really a synergy here," said Favil West, a leader of the citizens group Stop Helicopters Over Urban Territory, which was formed to fight against a possible Sloan heliport.

"There are noise and safety concerns here and with us," West said at a Thursday night meeting of about 25 people at Larry's Hide-a-Way, a bar close to the North Las Vegas Airport.

There's also a sense among both groups of neighbors that they aren't being listened to, but some they hope that with the coming together of the groups and planned recruitment of more neighbors to their causes, state and county leaders will be forced to pay attention.

The heliport opponents take encouragement from the help that the North Las Vegas residents are getting from one of their lawmakers.

State Sen. Raymond Shaffer, R-North Las Vegas, has requested a bill be drafted for the 2005 Legislature that would prohibit flights from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. and would limit the number of takeoffs and landings to 65,000 a year at the North Las Vegas Airport. The airport now averages about 220,000. A similar bill died in committee during the last session.

Clark County Department of Aviation Director Randy Walker has said only the Federal Aviation Administration can set such limits on the airport.

But Ed Gobel, a leader of the airport neighbors on this issue, said other communities in the U.S. exercise some control over the airports in their communities.

Shaffer said he hoped the limits he's seeking would make the airport safer. Several accidents have occurred in recent years, including a Christmas Day crash near the end of a runway that killed six people.

While Shaffer and the North Las Vegas residents' effort is aimed at passing his proposed state law, the heliport opponents, for now, are dealing with county officials. Although they are targeting different audiences, the two groups are looking for strength in numbers.

"They have to listen if there's enough of us talking," airport neighbor Jean Mitrani said.

Linda West Myers, another airport neighbor, agreed.

"We're creating a ground swell," she said. "If Randy Walker doesn't see the light his bosses will see the light."

Some Anthem residents say that even though Sloan has not been formally selected as the site for a new heliport, they feel the site was as good as chosen in July, when the county bought the land.

"They selected 13 sites to study and owned one already, so we all knew which one would be selected," West said.

Walker has said that wasn't the case and if the Sloan site isn't ultimately selected as the site for a heliport the county could easily sell the property.

For now, the Sloan site is the one likely to be recommended to the County Commissioners Feb. 3.

But Walker has noted that could change since Commissioner Bruce Woodbury has asked Walker to look for a location farther south.

There also will be a demonstration flight of the path that would be taken by helicopters if they flew from the Sloan site. The demonstration, scheduled for between 11 a.m. and noon Thursday, is intended to settle the argument between Anthem residents and county officials over whether the helicopters are loud enough to be heard from Anthem homes.

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