Money overcomes no-growth spirit

Wednesday, April 26, 2006 | 7:19 a.m.

It may eventually go down in political annals as the battle between the tortoise and the error.

The desert tortoise and a numerical dispute are the focus of the latest plot twist over a proposed Boulder City ballot initiative aimed at selling 107,000 acres of vacant land - and making residents instant millionaires in the process.

Clark County officials argue that ballot initiative proponents erred in including an 85,000-acre desert tortoise preserve in the land that they propose to sell, with a sizable chunk of the estimated $25 billion-plus in proceeds to be divvied up among Boulder City's 15,000 residents.

Supporters of the ballot measure, however, argue that county officials in the last decade have moved at, well, a tortoiselike pace in doing anything to preserve the desert preserve. And that, they contend, takes that issue off the table.

If the two sides in the burgeoning debate agree on anything, it is that the matter is likely to be decided not at the polls, but in a courtroom.

"None of this is unexpected here," said Sherman Rattner, co-chairman of the Coalition to Protect the Future of Boulder City, the group behind the initiative. "I wouldn't be surprised if it winds up eventually with the U.S. Supreme Court."

If the county, backed by Boulder City officials, prevails on the issue about the 85,000 acres, it effectively would gut the proposed ballot measure before it even reaches voters.

Promoters of the initiative contend that if all or most of the 107,000-acre tract is sold, Boulder City residents, who would receive 90 percent of the proceeds, could net between $750,000 and $3 million each. Some of the money, estimated at $25 billion to $50 billion, also would be spent on a freeway bypass and habitat conservation.

But if the 85,000-acre preserve is removed from consideration, that would leave only 22,000 acres. Because of existing leases and requirements from the Colorado River Commission dictating that some of the land be used for recreational purposes, only 10,000 to 15,000 acres of that property potentially could be developed, City Attorney Dave Olsen said.

That would give residents a maximum of about $250,000 each, if 15,000 acres sold for $250,000 an acre.

Although Rattner argues that much more land would be available for development, he believes that even if only the lesser amount could be sold, residents would be happy with a six-figure payday.

"I think we can do much better than that, but it would still be ... fantastic," Rattner said.

Under the lower-acreage scenario, Boulder City, which would receive 10 percent of the proceeds, would gain $300 million to $400 million - enough, Rattner points out, to pay for the bypass, habitat protection and retire the city's debt.

While myriad legal issues about the proposed ballot initiative remain to be resolved, the question of whether the 85,000-acre preserve is in or out of the equation will do much to shape the political debate, if for no reason other than it represents more than three-quarters of the land at stake.

Clark County paid $300,000 for the desert tortoise preserve in July 1995 as part of a 50-year conservation easement with Boulder City.

In an ironic twist, Boulder City - the community that normally shuns growth - paved the way for development in the Las Vegas Valley and elsewhere in Clark County by agreeing to the easement, county officials said.

County officials used the 85,000 acres to secure a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to allow development on 145,000 acres of privately owned land in Clark County.

If Boulder City were to authorize development on the 85,000 acres, the Fish and Wildlife Service said it would suspend its permit with the county, pending a renegotiation. That would force developers to go through a lengthy process of obtaining agency approval before they could build, county officials said.

"This proposed sale would be a violation of the easement," said Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, a Boulder City resident and lawyer. "My feeling is, the county will be making it clear if this is moved forward at all. We are going to take legal action to get an injunction to prevent it."

Olsen agrees that developing the 85,000 acres is illegal, a point that will be cited in his argument to keep the measure off the ballot.

Since kicking off the ballot initiative Friday, the Coalition to Protect the Future of Boulder City has collected about 300 of the 692 signatures needed to qualify the measure for the November ballot, Rattner said.

Although he said an easement would be passed along in any land sale, he contends the easement is no longer valid because Clark County and Boulder City have not done enough in the last decade to preserve the 85,000 acres as a desert tortoise preserve.

In support of that position, he notes that a 2004 county study said tortoises were declining rapidly in Eldorado Valley and that Boulder City violated terms of the agreement by allowing off-road racing on the site.

"That habitat exists in name only," Rattner said. "They have failed to maintain it, and it has effectively been destroyed."

Rob Mrowka, Clark County's manager of environmental planning, disputes that, saying there is no proof that tortoises have been killed and that the county has taken steps to address problems with the area's management.

"In our mind, the situation has greatly improved," Mrowka said. "This is very important habitat."

Without Boulder City's help, development of another 145,000 acres of private land - the property made available for construction in exchange for the preserve - would have been more costly and more limited, Mrowka said.

"It is a paradox because we allowed development in the Las Vegas Valley to occur," said Boulder City Mayor Robert Ferraro, whose community limits construction to 120 homes per year.

Mrowka, arguing that "the development community owes Boulder City," said the city "saved the developers a lot of time and work in getting their own permits."

That's why preserving the conservation area is so important, Mrowka said.

Bob Williams, field supervisor for the Fish and Wildlife Service in Nevada, said it is vital that the easement be maintained for the full 50 years - and longer if necessary to protect the desert tortoise, a threatened species.

If the 85,000 acres is removed as a conservation area, Williams said, his agency would have no choice but to suspend the county's permit governing development on the other 145,000 acres. That would delay development until individual permits are obtained.

"It is hard to say, but it could be anywhere from six months to a year or two," Williams said.

While that phase of the debate plays out, Rattner's group will be moving ahead with its plans to get the measure on the ballot. The anti-development group sponsored the measure to draw attention to its attempt to defeat a city-sponsored ballot proposal for a land swap involving a developer and the Bureau of Land Management.

Rattner is well aware that his group's initiative faces both political and legal hurdles. But he said he hopes Boulder City residents are given a chance to vote on the measure before the courts weigh in.

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