Editorial: Shield Nellis from growth

Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2005 | 9:13 a.m.

The effect of Las Vegas' growth on Nellis Air Force Base first became apparent 20 years ago. At that time, Clark County and North Las Vegas adopted zoning codes that slowed the urban growth creeping toward the base's southern perimeter. Their efforts, however, weren't enough to thwart a major impact on the base. Planes carrying bombs and other live ordnance have been forced to take off from Nellis' northern runway ever since. Too many homes had been built for Nellis to risk routing armed planes from the southern runway, which, because of milder winds, had always been the preferred route for pilots heading to the Nellis Range for training.

Today, development pressure persists. In August 2002 the Clark County Commission approved the building of 52 homes just southwest of the base, within an area known as the Accident Potential Zone. Commissioners gave approvals despite objections from the Air Force. Later in 2002 a proposal was floated to build 36,000 homes at the Apex industrial park, northwest of Nellis and directly under its flight path for armed planes. That proposal was withdrawn but pressure to develop that area remains. Although the Air Force is buying land northwest of Nellis to preserve a safety zone, a development the size of the one that had been proposed for Apex could force the base to shut down.

That's why new agreements among Clark County, North Las Vegas and Nellis to restrict growth around the base have been drafted. The agreements call for cooperation between Clark County and North Las Vegas, and consultation with Nellis officials, before any land-use decisions in the vicinity of the base can be approved. North Las Vegas will vote Wednesday on the agreement and Clark County will vote next month.

Nellis Air Force Base contributes about $2 billion a year to the Southern Nevada economy. But that's not the important reason for approving the agreement. The base, with its 3-million acre range, provides some of the most realistic training that pilots will ever receive. For their sake, and the sake of national security, Nellis Air Force Base should be shielded from our never-ending growth.