NLV, county to team up in restricting housing near Nellis

By Buck Wargo

Monday, Feb. 14, 2005 | 8:34 a.m.

Clark County and North Las Vegas are nearing an agreement to guide and restrict development near Nellis Air Force Base as part of a long-term strategy to protect the base from closure.

The North Las Vegas City Council will vote Wednesday and the Clark County Commission is expected to vote in March on the agreement that simply calls for cooperation between both agencies and consultation with Nellis before making land-use decisions surrounding the 14,100-acre base.

"Development is coming closer and closer to Nellis, and we want to make sure we are on the same page to protect it," said Jory Stewart, the planning and development director for North Las Vegas. "The base is an economic driving force."

The consideration of the agreement comes three months before Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recommends which military bases should be closed as a way to save money. Those recommendations will be reviewed by an independent commission that makes its own recommendation to President Bush, who forwards the base-closure plan to Congress.

Nellis stands a better chance of surviving future base closures if Clark County and North Las Vegas continue to encourage such development as warehouses, manufacturers and other industrial uses that are more compatible with an air base, said Jim Spinello, assistant director of administrative services for Clark County.

Developers have approached Clark County and North Las Vegas about building subdivisions near the base. None of the proposals in the past two years have gone far, said Jon Wardlaw, the assistant planning manager for Clark County.

Developer Randy Black Sr., honorary commander of Nellis Air Force Base and chairman of an advisory committee working to retain the state's military bases, said that in the past decade there have been several close calls of subdivisions almost getting built near the base. Zoning changes, land purchases and swaps with the base have kept that development from happening, he said.

"It is like everything else in Las Vegas," Black said. "Everything is growing like weeds. Nellis used to be way way out there. Now it is within a stone's throw away of development. It has pretty much been held at bay. This is the final piece to make sure nothing is done unless Nellis is in full approval."

Most of the development near the base is industrial, but there are some mobile home parks and sporadic housing, Wardlaw said. North Las Vegas has annexed land north and west of Nellis, Stewart said.

The concern over allowing subdivisions near the air base is having residents complain about noise. There would also be the safety hazard of having jets carrying live bombs and ammunition flying over homes.

"Industrial will work, but houses and bombers don't go together," Black said.

Spinello said the agreement will be forwarded to the Defense Department and the commission to show the governments are working together to prevent development from encroaching on Nellis. The proximity of residences to a base may be one of the deciding factors in closing a base, he said.

"I think that gives you a leg up because it shows what local government is doing," Spinello said. "If it comes down to three bases, and two of the three don't have that kind of commitment from local governments, it will give you a leg up."

Nellis spokesman Capt. Steve Rolenc said he's not familiar with the agreement and wouldn't comment on it except to say that the base gets on well with local government.

"The base has had great relations with the local community, and we enjoy being neighbors here," Rolenc said. "We appreciate them allowing us to do our job."

The idea for an agreement between North Las Vegas and Clark County came from a 50-member advisory commission formed by Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev.

The base, which has 8,251 military personnel and 2,800 civilians, estimates its economic impact at more than $2 billion a year.

Black said retaining bases has historically been on the back burner in the state because of the economic benefits derived from casinos. He said that attitude is changing, and he remains optimistic Nellis has a future as an air base, especially since the state has wide-open terrain and similarities to Iraq and combat zones.

"In the end, it is a political process, and every base needs to do what it can to keep itself viable," Black said. "You are never safe, but hopefully we are."