Sunday, April 16, 2006 | 7:33 a.m.
A proposal to develop a 73-acre Henderson parcel into retail stores, restaurants and office buildings should be dismissed, considering the parcel is part of an industrial site home to chemical plants that use and produce hazardous materials.
The Henderson City Planning Commission, however, unanimously approved the development Thursday night. The City Council will have the final say and is likely to discuss the proposal at its May 2 meeting.
A member of the Planning Commission, Gerri Schroder, said she believes the proposal is superior to one offered by Wal-Mart last year, which was withdrawn after people raised safety concerns. She said a Wal-Mart Supercenter and Sam's Club would have drawn far more people than the current proposal, which she said is also superior because the design calls for more exits.
The new proposal was submitted by developer Jay Bingham, co-owner of J&F Land Co., a subsidiary of Juliet Properties. Ironically, when Bingham served as chairman of the Clark County Commission in 1993, he voted with a majority of other commissioners to ban all but light manufacturing and industrial development on that same parcel.
The property has since been annexed into Henderson. Bingham's new vision for the property is a bustling site that could include a Home Depot, a Target and a Kohl's, along with restaurants and office buildings.
Several minor explosions, chemical leaks and fires have occurred over the years at the site, which houses four large chemical plants. In 1991 a major chlorine leak there forced the evacuation of a large part of Henderson.
Fortunately, the site is sparsely populated and the risk of injury or death is minimal. But that will not be the case if Bingham is allowed to develop the parcel. The Planning Commission approved the proposal, knowing the City Council will have the benefit of risk-assessment studies before it votes.
But the danger is obvious without studies. In our view, the fact that a planning commissioner believes the site to be appropriate because it has plenty of exits in the event of an emergency is a perfect example of why this project should exit the city's agenda.
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