Council backs off plan to de-annex land

Dan Kulin

Wednesday, June 9, 2004 | 9:31 a.m.

The Boulder City Council pulled back Tuesday from plans to have voters decide whether the city should change its borders so 1,500 acres would be outside the city limits and available for rapid development.

Council members had debated two weeks ago whether to have voters decide the fate of the land, known as Dutchman's Pass, during the November election or the next city election a year from now.

But council members on Tuesday agreed to back off any specific timetable.

If voters decided to detach, or de-annex, the land, that would clear the way for the city to sell it for development, which some city leaders said could bring as much as $400 million to the city.

Councilwoman Andrea Anderson said she opposes the border change and doesn't even want it on a ballot.

Anderson said she was concerned that selling the land for development would set a bad precedent for future councils, who may be tempted to sell land closer to the heart of Boulder City.

Anderson and some of her fellow council members reiterated concerns that the sale of the land, which is on the Henderson side of the McCullough Mountain Range, could jeopardize the city's share of state sales tax revenue.

Mayor Robert Ferraro said there would be "no further action" on the possible detachment, or de-annexation, of Dutchman's Pass, but "we will continue to study it."

The mayor said that while it's now unclear when the issue could resurface, there's still a chance it could return in time to be placed on the June 2005 city ballot.

Councilman Mike Pacini, who has backed the sale of Dutchman's Pass, said he hopes the council's decision Tuesday leaves the door open for the matter to come back before next year.

Pacini proposed the idea as a solution to the city's debt and to provide more than enough money for future projects, such as a new city swimming pool.

"I don't see anything else that can bring in that much money," Pacini said, referring to the estimated $200 million to $400 million the city could get for selling the land.

The $22 million municipal Boulder Creek Golf Club, which city officials had expected to make money within the first year, instead has lost at least $3 million since it opened in January 2003. The city also recently spent $35 million to install a second water pipeline from Lake Mead.

If the land remains a part of Boulder City, development of the land would be restricted by the city's slow-growth law, which limits new home construction to 120 a year.

The land is on the northwest edge of the city limits, and is not visible from the developed parts of Boulder City.