Project under heavy scrutiny

Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2005 | 9:09 a.m.

A development on Mount Charleston, billed as a half-dozen homes near the end of Kyle Canyon Road, is attracting attention from Clark County officials who fear that the project is a cover for nearly 50 individual condos.

Officials said they have received complaints from residents on the mountain about the density of the project. A county official said the project is under scrutiny but appears to fulfill building requirements. Another official, however, said the district attorney's office may have to become involved.

The three officials said more investigation is warranted.

Chris Munhall, a liaison for the county government to the rural Mount Charleston Town Advisory Board, said he has received complaints from residents about the density of the project, which received zoning approval last year.

He said each building is being sold as eight units.

"It's kind of hinky," Munhall said. "It just looks like this is something we need to get our hands around."

Several residents from the small community of about 300 people on top of Kyle Canyon said they were concerned about the density of the project, but, citing the close-knit character of the neighborhood, they declined to be identified.

One person said concerns would include parking demands on roads that are already congested, especially in winter. The resident said people didn't complain in November 2003 when the issue came before the town advisory board and the county commission because the zoning application specified only six single-family homes on 1.4 acres.

Rob Warhola, a Clark County deputy district attorney, said the project might break the local or state law if sales were done as separate units. The county could pull the development's building approvals, or get an injunction to block continued construction.

"It seems like they're trying to circumvent the (Clark County Building) Code," Warhola said. "If they're in the middle of construction the remedy would be to put a hold on construction."

He noted that the floor plans of the buildings in the project seem to show eight individual units, similar to a condo or apartment building.

The project, dubbed Mountain Vista, is perched on the side of Mount Charleston about a quarter-mile from the Mount Charleston Lodge. Barbara Orcutt is part owner of both the Mountain Vista development, now under construction, and the lodge.

One of Orcutt's employees referred to the project as a condominium complex, but Orcutt said the six buildings on the mountain were individual family homes with multiple owners.

"They are single-family homes where more than one family owns the house," Orcutt said. "These people will have 1/25th of a home, or whatever."

Orcutt, who lives on Mount Charleston, said she hasn't heard "one person express concern about it."

Erin Schlumpf, real estate agent for the project, said each of the six buildings is being sold as "eight different cooperative units."

Sales so far have been slow, she said. Smaller units at 500 square feet sell for $500,000. The 1,000-square-foot units sell for up to $1 million.

Clark County Building Official Ron Lynn said his department has inspected the buildings under construction and has raised concerns about the design, but does not have anything to formally complain about.

"We went up there, we checked the plans," Lynn said, "and they are building it pursuant to the plans."

Most importantly, the buildings all have a common, shared kitchen, he said. Having five, six or more units within each building is not a violation of the county's building code, he said.

"Our inspectors are watching it to make sure there is only one kitchen per building. Until they do something wrong, it's all conjecture."

Launce Rake is a reporter for the Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-4127 or by e-mail at lrake@lasvegassun.com.