Zoo company concerned about planned site

Monday, July 19, 2004 | 11:11 a.m.

A Las Vegas company that wants to invest millions of dollars to build a world-class local zoo has concerns about the proposed site, including a restriction that in theory would prohibit features that could raise someone's heart rate.

But among the company's biggest concerns about putting a zoo at Floyd Lamb State Park is that the city does not yet own it. In 1977 the city, with the help of then-State Sen. Floyd Lamb, dumped the then-high-maintenance park known as Tule Springs into the state's lap.

Now, with a chance to develop it as a rural community with features including a sprawling zoo, the city wants it back.

The park includes 680 acres of state property and 1,100-plus acres of Bureau of Land Management property that is leased by the state -- lands that come with restrictions that raise questions that the proposed developers want answered.

And they are questions that one high-ranking city official says are fair. But Deputy City Manager Steve Houchens also says the city needs to review a feasibility study due out this week to determine if the project is doable before the city can answer at least some of the proposed developer's concerns. Floyd Lamb State Park is bordered on three sides by the city. Although the 2003 Legislature made provisions for turning it over to the city, issues such as the estimated $500,000-per-year cost for maintenance are sticking points.

The feasibility of the zoo also is a strong factor influencing the city's decision whether to move forward with acquisition, city officials said.

Roger Bulloch, chief executive officer of Sher Capital, proposed builders of the zoo, and Michael Mitchell, of MCM/HPC, the company which conducted the feasibility study, will deliver the study's findings at Wednesday's Las Vegas City Council meeting.

Bulloch, declining to discuss the findings before he presents them to the council, said Sher Capital has several concepts for a 35-acre to 200-acre zoo, but first has to hammer out some of the issues surrounding Floyd Lamb park.

"We have issues with the transfer of the property, the infrastructure in the area and the use restrictions as outlined by the state and BLM," Bulloch said. "In short, the issue is with Floyd Lamb State Park."

The state-owned portion of the park poses potential problems for the developer because the state, in its bill to return Floyd Lamb State Park to the city, has deemed that only "passive use recreation" will be allowed on the land.

"We spent a lot of money on legal advice for an explanation of that very vague and very unclear term, and we have determined that it means no activity that raises a heartbeat above the normal heart rate," Bulloch said.

Bulloch said that while the spirit of such a clause is to prohibit softball or soccer fields, the restriction's vagueness is troublesome -- especially when so much money is on the line.

The lack of clarity begs questions as to whether the mere act of briskly walking through a zoo raises one's heartbeat above normal. Or would getting startled by roaring animals put undue strain on a patron's ticker?

The BLM-leased land also poses its own set of restrictions and potential problems, among them the banning of commercial uses. Bulloch said a zoo needs commercial components to survive and thrive.

"We don't want the City Council to say five years from now, 'Why did Sher Capital stick us with a zoo that does not make money?"' Bulloch said.

Houchens does not debate that the restriction on the property's use is something the developer will have to deal with, but notes the city must also shoulder that burden.

"If that restriction does stay in the event of a transfer, then it could be a limiting factor," Houchens said. "I'm not sure how to determine if it (a zoo) fills passive recreation. I don't know where you draw the line."

Houchens agreed that BLM restrictions will be a sticky issue, especially since a zoo likely would have commercial uses such as a gift shop, restaurant and concessions.

And there are other problems. For instance Bulloch noted that the "only infrastructure is the streets into the area" and that he does not believe residents would want big traffic arteries pouring into the rural region.

Houchens said he would have to "defer to future traffic studies," but noted that any successful venture would result in a need to upgrade roads to an area.

"I think if they decide to move forward, we would provide such support," Houchens said.

And then, Bulloch said, there is the issue of the city going through the title transfer process. The city has not yet given the developers a projected time when such a process would be completed.

"They are accurate that we do not have immediate plans to transfer the land," Houchens said. "In part we are waiting to see what their feasibility study says. Indeed, the zoo is a large part of it (the city taking back Floyd Lamb State Park). Their decision will have a real impact on the site's future."

The feasibility study was completed last month, Bulloch said, but Sher and city officials say that nothing in writing has been submitted to the City Council, so the study is not yet part of the public record, and thus not available to be scrutinized.

The only documentation the city has provided as backup for the meeting is the memorandum of understanding, a previously approved agreement that gives Sher Capital owners Edward and Mona Sher exclusive rights to negotiate their zoo proposal while spending up to $2 million studying the idea.

Sher Capital, in a news release Friday, said it is encouraged by a recent study by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas that confirms there is public support for a zoological-themed attraction.

Las Vegas currently has a small zoo -- the Southern Nevada Zoological Park -- that has operated for many years at 1775 N. Rancho Drive.

Bulloch said that if Floyd Lamb State Park does not work out, Sher could build the zoo elsewhere in the city. "We are not site-specific," he said.

Houchens said that while prospects appear favorable for using Floyd Lamb park for a zoo, "that is not to say that if they (Sher) found another parcel it would not work equally as well."

"We need to sit back and see what comes out in this study," Houchens said.