County, Henderson work on deal over annexation

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 | 9:49 a.m.

Henderson and Clark County officials are optimistic an agreement will be reached to allow the city to annex 3,600 acres of federal land for future development.

Two weeks ago Henderson's annexation plan came to a halt when the Clark County Commission refused to agree to it. Henderson officials, who were surprised by the county's opposition, canceled a public hearing of the annexation scheduled for Tuesday as a show of good faith.

"I think it indicates a willingness to cooperate with us," said Commission Chairman Rory Reid who said a deal will eventually be struck."I think there is room for cooperation."

Last week Reid and Commissioners Chip Maxfield and Bruce Woodbury met with Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson and Councilman Steven Kirk. City and county staffs also participated in the talks and set the stage for an eventual agreement.

"I think it was a real positive meeting," Kirk said. "We will have something worked out, but I don't know when."

The Bureau of Land Management has said it would allow the annexation of the land along Interstate 15 and the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area to go forward as along as the county doesn't object.

The delay may only push back the annexation a month or two, officials said. If annexed, the 3,600 acres will remain federal property under Henderson's jurisdiction and planning.

Kirk said that if the county and city staffs had talked more with each other on the issue, the problem may have been avoided.

City officials said the southern boundary of the property is 12 miles from a planned Ivanpah Valley airport and they didn't expect any objections from the county.

County officials, however, want an agreement between the two entities in the south county to manage growth and set aside a corridor for utilities and light rail that will serve the airport and surrounding development. The county wants to divert cargo traffic to Ivanpah to allow more passengers to go through McCarran International Airport.

"McCarran Airport is such an important part of our economy and the gateway for a lot of people to come here to enjoy what we have," Reid said.

In the past, Clark County and Henderson officials have talked generally about this coordination, but the commissioners didn't want the annexation to go forward without hammering out a deal, Reid said.

"We would lose control over it, and we don't intend to do that," Reid said. "Everybody has talked about whether the corridor should be on the east side of the freeway or the west side and how wide should it be. There is something to be said that the devil's in the details."

Reid also said that the county hasn't determined what type of development it wants on the thousands of acres over which it has jurisdiction. The county doesn't want any of that development to be incompatible with what is put in Henderson, he said.

Henderson officials said its annexation will help the city plan its periphery and protect that land from incompatible land uses. It will also help plan for infrastructure on neighboring development.

City officials said they would like the 3,600 acres to be compatible with a 1,940-acre parcel owned by the Focus Property Group, which plans 14,500 homes, condos and apartments in the mixed-use development. No development, however, has been planned for the 3,600 acres.