Congressional committee takes up heliport site

Suzanne Struglinski

Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2004 | 9:29 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Southern Nevada officials were asking a congressional committee today to support a bill that would create a heliport south of Henderson, but the government does not want to give the county the land for free.

The bill would release 229 acres of federal land to Clark County, giving the county another option for the new heliport.

Clark County Aviation Director Randy Walker was scheduled to testify before the House resources subcommittee, which was to take up the bill today. Rep. Jim Gibbon, R-Nev., who is on the committee, was also expected to speak in favor of the heliport.

The County Aviation Department originally evaluated 13 sites and settled on a 45-acre site it purchased off Interstate 15 at Sloan as its best option.

But residents from Henderson's Anthem community and other neighborhoods that might be affected complained about the potential noise from the tour helicopters as they brought tourists to the Grand Canyon and other nearby sites.

The federal land is farther south along Interstate 15 than the initial site, but congressional approval would be required to allow the county to get the land transferred from the Bureau of Land Management.

John Hiatt of Las Vegas, who spoke on behalf of the Nevada Wilderness Coalition, would rather see land near the Sunrise landfill east of Las Vegas used for the heliport. He is concerned about the flights going over the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area or the North McCullough Mountain Wilderness area.

He said the federal proposal does nothing but move the problem two miles south, while choosing another site would help solve most of the problems.

He said the Sunrise option is closer to the Strip and has the infrastructure a heliport would need.

Hiatt said the Sloan site would still bring flights over future development.

If approved, the bill would not prohibit flights over the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area or the North McCullough Mountain Wilderness but would require helicopter flights to avoid sensitive areas like petroglyph sites or bighorn sheep habitat.

Flights could not occur farther than five miles north of the conservation area's southern boundary and at least 500 feet to 1,000 feet above ground. Each flight would also have a $3-per-passenger fee to go to a fund designed to protect cultural and wildlife resources.

The heliport is expected to open by 2008 after going through environmental assessments.