Golf developer might be asking too much

Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2006 | 8:09 a.m.

A California golf course designer has asked Boulder City to lease him 1,500 acres in Dutchman's Pass as part of an ambitious plan to build eight golf courses surrounded by villas.

In golf jargon, though, this is one idea that likely will not make the cut at City Hall, meaning that golfers probably won't be teeing it up anytime soon at the site, next to the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area.

Boulder City officials, noting that one of two city-owned golf courses is struggling financially, question the need for more courses.

They also object to the developer's desire to control development on surrounding land; a proposed requirement under which the city would have to supply him water at no markup; and his refusal to permit the city to inspect his financial records.

"In my opinion, the answer is no and hell no," said Boulder City Mayor Bob Ferraro. "I am sure it will not go anywhere. This is just absurd."

The controversial proposal, to be considered today by the Boulder City Council, comes from developer Arthur Magnuson of San Diego. If Boulder City rejects his offer, Magnuson said he will look for land elsewhere, most likely in the Ivanpah Valley on the west side of the McCullough Mountain Range.

Magnuson proposes to lease the city-owned Dutchman's Pass on the east side of the McCullough, out of view of Boulder City and about seven miles from its nearest development. Most city officials have been reluctant to allow any development in the area, which Boulder City acquired from the federal government a decade ago.

The plan calls for eight golf courses of varying degree of difficulty on the 1,500 acres with an option to lease an additional 1,100 acres to build more courses. Magnuson also proposes building 100 villas that could be rented by the day, week, month or year.

In addition to a 24-hour lighted driving range, the project would include two 80,000-square-foot buildings consisting of a golf pro shop, clubhouse, retail sports stores, library, golf academy, bar and grill, nightclub and card rooms. Boulder City's charter prohibits gaming, but Magnuson said the rooms would be for "old-fashioned card games."

Magnuson also proposes an awards ceremony room that could accommodate up to 1,000 people for dinner.

Under the 70-year agreement, which Magnuson would have a right to extend, he would have the option to control any commercial development that the city would allow on an access road heading west from U.S. 95.

Councilwoman Andrea Anderson chuckled at the offer and said she would never support it. Given Dutchman's Pass proximity to Sloan Canyon, it should be included in the conservation zone and never developed, she said.

"He is obviously not familiar with the politics in Boulder City," Anderson said.

Even if the council went along with Magnuson's proposal, it still would need voter approval because the city's charter protects Dutchman's Pass from development.

Dutchman's Pass also is one of the options in a land swap with American West Homes, which owns 720 acres west of U.S. 95 in Eldorado Valley. American West said it will build homes on its land unless Boulder City swaps property. The city is meeting with the Bureau of Land Management to try to find federal land in the Las Vegas Valley suitable for a swap with the homebuilder.

If no federal land is found, city officials have said that proposed swap for Dutchman's Pass will be put on the November ballot.

Sherman Rattner, who heads an anti-development group in Boulder City, criticized the city for even considering Magnuson's golf course proposal. He contends that an agreement with the federal government when Boulder City acquired Dutchman's Pass and other surrounding property forbids such uses on it -- an interpretation with which city officials do not agree.

Magnuson, who said he already has spent about $200,000 on the proposed $85 million project, said he was surprised by opposition to his plan. He said his concept is not very different from a plan under which Boulder City leased land to MGM Mirage for the construction of the Cascata golf course that opened in 2000. That lease earns the city $900,000 a year, Ferraro said.

Because of the city's resistance to housing in the area, Magnuson said he felt that a golf course would be a good use for Dutchman's Pass, which is bordered on three sides by mountains.

Magnuson also said his golf courses would not compete against the two owned by Boulder City, but rather would primarily host corporate outings of 200 to 1,000 people.

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