Planner’s project opposed

Dan Kulin

Thursday, March 25, 2004 | 9:19 a.m.

The North Las Vegas Planning Commission on Wednesday postponed making a recommendation on a controversial request to change the zoning in a rural preservation area to clear the way for more homes.

The request comes from Harry Shull, a developer and a member of the Planning Commission.

Neighbors who oppose the development say Shull has violated state ethics laws by lobbying his fellow commission members on the project.

Shull on Wednesday referred all questions to his attorney, who declined to comment until he saw specific allegations.

In January Shull said he had lobbied his fellow commissioners and City Council members on his proposal. Shull has abstained from all discussion and votes on the matter during commission meetings.

Shull, a part owner of Celebrate Homes, hopes to build 33 single-family homes on 14.8 acres off the southeast corner of Lone Mountain Road and Allen Lane.

But neighbors want the zoning left alone, which would limit any residential development there to two homes per acre, or roughly 30 homes, and ensure that farm animals continue to be allowed on the land.

Shull has said he doesn't want farm animals, which are allowed in such rural districts called Ranch Estates Districts, allowed in the proposed development.

The Planning Commission is now scheduled to revisit the matter on April 14, at which time it could make recommendations to the council on whether to approve the project. Commissioners decided to delay action on the proposed development Wednesday in order to give Shull more time to develop a new compromise plan intended to sit better with neighbors and commission members. The City Council will have the final say over whether to allow the development.

Steve Werk, who lives across the street from the proposed development, said he and his fellow neighbors will fight the zoning change "to the bitter end."

Werk said he and his neighbors are worried that if the zoning is changed, it would lead to an end of the area's rural lifestyle and set a precedent that would lead to increasingly dense development.

Werk was one of 19 people who spoke against the proposed development during the Wednesday commission meeting.

One woman, an owner of the land where the development would be built, spoke in favor of the project.

Werk also said that he believes Shull violated state ethics laws by lobbying the other commissioners on his project.

University of Nevada, Las Vegas ethics professor Craig Walton said that while Shull may be following the letter of the law by abstaining from the matter during the meeting, it's unclear whether he is breaking any laws by talking to his fellow commissioners about the project outside the meeting.

However, Walton said that Shull's lobbying at least appears improper and he probably shouldn't do it.

"You're not supposed to advocate but you can share information legally," Walton said. "It's a murky area in state law. But morally it looks like cronyism.

"If I were in his shoes, I would resign from the Planning Commission and lobby for my living."