Letter: Preserve rural areas for sake of land, animals

Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2005 | 11:41 a.m.

I am personally acquainted with many residents who moved to Las Vegas years ago in order to have property with acreage, providing adequate room for their families, their horses and other livestock.

These are good people, taxpayers and valuable citizens who enjoy rural living. As time moves along, many of these same people have become discouraged and have already moved or are considering a relocation in the near future.

We all realize why this is happening -- four homes to an acre, loss of land due to rezoning and encroaching developments. The quality of life, individual privacy and loss of safe horseback riding terrain prevails.

Please don't even mention the developers that have mitigated their home sites by placing walking trails around some of their walls. These trails, although perhaps meant well, actually lead nowhere and are adorned with poisonous plants. No equestrian assisted in the planning of those trails. In fact, they dead-end into traffic and are not continuous. Some, in fact, are dangerously located to merge into large equipment, walls and signage.

We support the study for a proposal to create rural preservation districts because there are neighborhoods that need special attention and consideration of zoning ordinances. Assemblywoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick is on the right track by wanting the city to create its own rural preservation districts in order to protect neighborhoods that were once rural as a guideline for future development. I think we should try to keep the people here in town who have a respect for the land and animals.

MICKI JAY

Editor's note: The writer is the founder of the Northwest Las Vegas Equestrian Safety Coalition.