Land-swap bill called strong-armed tactic

Tuesday, April 12, 2005 | 9:40 a.m.

Nearly 10 months after the Boulder City Council opted not to pursue a potential sale of 1,500 acres of city-owned land, a development company is pushing for a change in state law to make such a sale possible.

But even if Assembly Bill 487 passes the Nevada Legislature, City Council members said they have no desire at this time to pursue swapping the city land known as Dutchman's Pass for 640 acres controlled by Eldorado Valley Development Co.

Besides, the city's charter requires Boulder City voters approve any land swap.

The bill is scheduled for a hearing Thursday before the Assembly Government Affairs Committee. Assemblyman Joe Hardy, R-Boulder City, a member of the committee, said he's preparing an amendment to delete the provision dealing with the Boulder City deannexation.

"I suspect the developer will figure out it is better to work with Boulder City than against them," Hardy said. "It wouldn't surprise me if those folks say they didn't want to aggravate the people either."

Eldorado Valley used Greg Ferraro, the son of the Boulder City mayor and a unpaid city lobbyist in Carson City, to insert language in a bill pushed by Henderson and introduced by the Assembly Government Affairs Committee.

City Manager Vicki Mayes said she learned of the bill's amendment when Ferraro sent her an e-mail on March 24.

All five council members said they were upset the bill involving the city was introduced in March without their knowledge. The revelations about the bill has community members upset as well, city officials said.

Out of the blue

"This has come totally out of the blue," said Councilwoman Andrea Anderson. "I feel blindsided. It is totally wrong for a developer to propose a bill that affects Boulder City without consulting us. I think the chances of that (land swap) happening right now are pretty poor."

"It seems like an effort to strong-arm the city and threaten to build houses if it doesn't make the swap," said City Attorney Dave Olsen. "That kind of approach is certainly not appealing to the people and city government of Boulder City."

In May, council members said they wouldn't even consider deannexing city property unless it was supported by voters in an advisory ballot measure. In June, the council backed off on even pursuing that ballot measure but said they would consider the issue in the future. Hardy said at the time that he would only introduce a bill allowing deannexation if two-thirds of Boulder City voters supported it.

The bill has a section, without naming the city, that applies specifically to Boulder City, allowing it to deannex land that is undeveloped and is two-thirds bounded by unincorporated property. Clark County commissioners would have to back the deannexation as well, according to the bill.

'A bad idea right now'

"We are not going to go for it," Mayor Bob Ferraro said. "I think it is a bad idea right now."

"It is a total surprise to us, and I'm not happy about it," added Councilwoman Karla Burton. "There may be a time in what their proposing is a good idea, but I don't think it is now. They have really gone behind the back of residents of Boulder City."

Even Councilman Mike Pacini, who first proposed the idea a year ago to deannex Dutchman's Pass and sell it for as much as $400 million-plus to pay off the city's $50 million-plus in debt, said he doesn't like a company doing an end-run around the city.

Pacini said the city should have been consulted, and that he only wants to pursue any deannexation legislation if Boulder City residents back it in an advisory referendum.

"We are not prepared to talk about any land swap," Pacini said. "We are not at that part of the process yet. We need to get out and reach out to the public. They need to support it before we go forward."

Louis Cervantez, general manager of Eldorado Valley Development, will appear before the council tonight to gauge its support for the Assembly bill, before deciding whether to go forward with it in Carson City. He will also use tonight's meeting to discuss the options for the 640 acres his company manages for owner Bill Wadley of Las Vegas.

Cervantez said he doesn't expect the city to back the proposed legislation or pursue talks of a land swap, given their reaction since the issue was put on the agenda. He admitted he didn't understand the political dynamics of the slow-growth community that limits new home construction to 120 homes a year and said there was no attempt to strong-arm the city, especially since voters have the final say on a land swap.

"We underestimated how they would react, not understanding we should have worked with them," Cervantez said. "I feel badly because I thought we were doing them a favor, but it is not viewed that way in today's world."

Cervantez, who said his management company sells land rather than develop it, said he has spoken in general terms with city officials about a possible land swap, but he said he never broached the subject of state legislation, which was recommended by the company's consultant. He said he recalled the council discussion over Dutchman's Pass a year ago, and thought it would be appropriate to resurrect the issue involving Wadley's property acquired in 2002 and 2003.

Eldorado's 640 acres of undeveloped land in the foothills of the McCullough Mountains is on the western border of Boulder City. It is about five miles from developed portions of the community and is visible to those who approach it. Dutchman's Pass, which is on the east side of the McCullough Mountains about eight miles from the developed area of town, isn't visible to Boulder City residents, city officials said.

Cervantez said he wanted to give Boulder City a chance to preserve mountain views from development. The land is adjacent to city-owned property that is undeveloped.

Just alternatives

"We were not trying to hoodwink anybody," said Cervantez who has started an appraisal of the Wadley property. "We were just trying to bring people alternatives. I don't think people realize this is a county island, and I thought we could work something out. The bottom line is that we are going to want to do something in the future. We have had a lot of offers for that property."

Councilman Roger Tobler said the discussion raises an important issue because most residents don't realize that the Eldorado Valley property is in unincorporated Clark County and doesn't fall under the city's jurisdiction so Boulder City's slow-growth ordinance can't be applied. Because it is closer to developed areas of Boulder City than Dutchman's Pass, he said the community needs to decide whether it wants to pursue a swap in the future.

Pacini agreed that development closer to the city's border is a concern. There are more than 1,000 acres of land in private hands in unincorporated Clark County adjacent to Boulder City's border, officials said.

"It is kind of strange we have gotten to this point, but I think something good will come out of this discussion," Pacini said. "Not only is it (Eldorado Valley property) closer but you can see it. I think residents need to be concerned about having 2,000, 3,000, or 4,000 homes on their doorsteps."

The Eldorado Valley land has zoning that allows one home per two acres, which appears to limit houses to a little more than 300. Cervantez said the company may pursue a zoning change from Clark County to obtain higher density or pursue a zoning change for industrial development. About 50 acres of the site is used for gravel mining, he said.

Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, whose district includes Boulder City, said he would oppose any residential development in the Eldorado land unless it annexed into the city and followed its regulations. He said it wouldn't be feasible for a developer to build one home for every two acres, he and wouldn't favor a zoning change. He said fellow commissioners tend to follow their colleagues on such zoning issues in their district.

The revelation of Greg Ferraro's involvement is expected to be discussed at tonight's meeting and has some city officials concerned there might have been a conflict of interest. Ferraro is only authorized to be reimbursed for his expenses of up to $1,000.

"In my mind it is," Olsen said. "I know we are not paying Mr. Ferraro, but in my business when you agree to represent someone, you should not do something contrary to their interests without getting permission to do so."

Greg Ferraro could not be reached for comment. Mayor Ferraro said he didn't consider it a conflict for his son because he is not a paid lobbyist for the city.

Cervantez said he chose Greg Ferraro as his lobbyist because he knows Boulder City.

The Henderson bill would make it easier for the city to annex Bureau of Land Management property without having to deal with objections by the federal government, said Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson. It is unrelated to Boulder City, he said.

Henderson not involved

Gibson said he's not aware of anyone approaching Henderson officials to put the Boulder City language in the bill. He also said Henderson is not pursuing the annexation of Dutchman's Pass, which is several miles from the Henderson city limits.

"I am not sure what is being offered up, but it is not our battle," Gibson said. "We don't want something important to be affected. If it does, we wish they would do it somewhere else."

Assemblyman David Parks, D-Las Vegas, the Government Affairs Committee chairman, said cities have the right to introduce bills but any amendments should be done at committee hearings or with approval of the author of the bill. He said the bill would have been prepared for the committee by Legislative Counsel Bureau.

"I would have to know more of the details to determine if something was done inappropriate," Parks said. "At this point, we are just going to proceed forward and have the hearing."

Hardy said there is no reason to delve into how the language got into the bill. The key is that it's being removed, he said.

Hardy said there is a misunderstanding by residents about language in the bill pertaining to Boulder City. He said there is nothing sneaky about the language because bills can't list a city by name, he said. The bill applies to Boulder City by describing a city that prohibits gaming in a county of more than 400,000.

Boulder City obtained Dutchman's Pass in 1995 from the Colorado River Commission. The city obtained the undeveloped property out of concern of development moving closer to the community from the north, Olsen said. He said he believes the city paid somewhere between $1 million and $2 million for the property.

Brian Wargo covers suburban government for the Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-4011 or by e-mail at wargo@lasvegassun.com.

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