Eldorado project faces battle

Saturday, Oct. 8, 2005 | 11:37 a.m.

A homebuilder wants to create a community about half the size of Boulder City just a few miles from the town, and Boulder City is set to fight it tooth and nail.

American West Homes is proposing construction of 3,800 homes on 720 acres in Eldorado Valley, west of U.S. 95.

The company has an enticing pitch for Clark County commissioners: The development will provide affordable housing to attract and retain Clark County schoolteachers, who would be eligible for $100 million in grants, including up to $50,000 for down payments.

Eldorado Valley homes are expected to be priced around $250,000 or less, according to one of American West's lawyers, Chris Kaempfer.

But Boulder City officials and County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, who represents the town, have spent months trying to hammer out an agreement to limit development in the pristine 11,000-acre valley, southeast of Las Vegas Valley.

In May they convinced the commission to enact a moratorium on zoning changes in Eldorado Valley until the agreement was worked out. The plan is to prohibit developers from building high-density subdivisions in Eldorado Valley for the next 10 years.

The only home construction that would be allowed would have to conform to the existing zoning of two acres for each home. With about 1,200 acres in private ownership covered by the agreement, that would mean only about 600 homes could be built.

At Tuesday's Boulder City Council meeting, American West officials are expected to suggest that plan be changed to allow their development, its lawyers said.

A full house of opponents is expected.

Boulder City, which has about 7,200 homes and a population of about 15,000, has an ordinance limiting construction to 120 homes per year, but it has issued only about 45 home-building permits a year in each of the last five years.

The proposed project would be adjacent to Boulder City's boundaries but three to five miles from developed portions of the city. That is close enough to spoil the views of the McCullough Mountains to the west and cause other concerns, city officials complain.

"I think we will fight it with everything we can," Councilwoman Andrea Anderson said. "It would change the whole character of the Eldorado Valley. It would have a tremendous impact on Boulder City with traffic, schools, parks and recreation. And we would be the first responder for (police and fire) emergencies."

Boulder City Manager Vicki Mayes said a mutual aid agreement with the county calls for Boulder City to provide emergency response to Eldorado Valley whenever possible, but that arrangement would have to be changed if a large number of homes are built there.

Ed Lubbers, a Las Vegas attorney representing American West, said he was surprised by the moratorium and Boulder City's strong opposition to a development that is not within its city limits.

"It was never our desire to ruffle any feathers, but we thought this was county land. We didn't think we were developing in Boulder City," Lubbers said. "We think there is a pressing need for housing, and we want to help (Clark County School District) attract the teachers they have so much trouble getting."

Clark County, which employs more than 16,000 teachers, has had trouble recruiting and retaining teachers because of the cost of housing, said George Ann Rice, associate superintendent of human resources. She declined to comment on the proposed development, but said the district appreciates all efforts to help recruit and retain teachers.

"We would welcome any ideas and creative ways of having attainable housing for our teachers," Rice said. "But we are not going to talk about where it should be."

Woodbury, who lives in Boulder City, called it a wonderful proposal for affordable housing, but he said it is a bad location and violates the county's master plan and policies. The county isn't in a position to provide police, fire and other services to the area, he said.

Woodbury, however, said he doesn't know what his colleagues will do.

"Affordable housing is a huge issue and these days that will certainly be seen as attractive," Woodbury said. "But there is no way I can guarantee what the commission will do.

"If you look at our planning policies, they would agree this is not a good location for it, but then again I have been surprised in the past by some of the decisions the majority has made."

Woodbury said one alternative to preserve the land would be for Boulder City to seek an exchange for the property with some of the 1,500 acres of city-owned land farther west known as Dutchman's Pass. Any development there would be on the west side of the mountains out of view of Boulder City and likely serviced by Henderson, he said.

Anti-development foes in Boulder City have opposed any exchange of Dutchman's Pass and any projects in other parts of Eldorado Valley.

Sherman Rattner, co-chairman of The Coalition to Save the Future of Boulder City, called the latest proposal political extortion and blackmail that's inconsistent with preserving Eldorado Valley.

"Once that city is built, the whole valley will go with. It essentially opens the floodgate," Rattner said.

Brian Wargo can be reached at 259-4011 or by e-mail at wargo@lasvegassun.com.