County to rule on mountain dwellings

Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2006 | 8:27 a.m.

The strange case of the Mount Charleston six single-family homes that were each built to house eight families appears destined for clarification.

The Clark County Commission today will consider taking steps to revoke permits for the project, which is already partially complete.

The case dates to November 2003, when the commission approved construction of six homes at the site. But the developer, led by the same family that owns the Mount Charleston Lodge, marketed and began selling as many as eight residential units within each "single-family home."

Once that reality became apparent to neighbors, they complained to county officials about the impact the project would have on water wells, septic systems and traffic within the tiny mountain community.

Environmentalists raised similar concerns because of the feared damage to the alpine environment, already stressed by thousands of wintertime visitors.

And county officials said the projects, if allowed to go forward, would set a precedent allowing homeowners to sell rooms in their houses as separate units.

"Our concern is that they understand at the end of the day the maximum number of units that they can have there is six," said Chuck Pulsipher, Clark County planning manager.

Rob Warhola, Clark County deputy district attorney and counsel to the County Commission, said the goal is to stop development of any multiunit condominium or bed-and-breakfasts at Mount Charleston. He said that binding agreement between the developer and the county to restrict the number of residential units to six would allow construction to continue.

Pulsipher said representatives for lodge owner Barbara Orcutt are now insisting that only six units were to be sold.

Carl Lovell, Orcutt's attorney, agreed. He said the developer would agree to limit sales to single family homes.

"There's been so many rumors," Lovell said. "It's probably a good idea to tell the County Commission what is going on ... We're going to tell them, show them, and have some real evidence for them that these are really single-family residences and that's how they're being sold."

Orcutt, however, said in October that multiple owners would buy into the buildings. A real estate agency marketing the projects said some units already had been sold for up to $1 million each.

And the Mount Charleston Lodge's Web site, still up Tuesday, said Orcutt's "plan for 36 new condo-style log cabins is much anticipated." They will feature "twelve two-bedroom ground floor units and 24 one-bedroom upstairs units with lofts will also offer private decks, fireplace, double wide whirlpool bath and shower, and garage or carport parking," the Web site said.

John Hiatt, a conservationist with the Red Rock Audubon Society, said the project is too much for a small community "with already a pretty high density of homes, all dependent on a limited water resource," he said. "There's no sewage treatment program, it's all septic tanks.

Hiatt said one problem is that at least two of the six structures appear to be almost complete, a point that Lovell and county officials confirmed.

"Since these are already essentially built, what's the next step?" Hiatt said. "We have to move forward and figure out how it's going to be dealt with. That in large part will depend on what Barbara Orcutt does."

Launce Rake can be reached at 259-4127 or at lrake@lasvegassun.com.