Land auction plan may add to rift

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 | 8:17 a.m.

Adding to its friction with Clark County over land issues, Henderson plans to ask the federal government to auction more than 2,300 acres, nearly a third of them at the heart of an annexation dispute.

The 700 acres in unincorporated Clark County south of the Inspirada master-planned community in Henderson and north of Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area, were nominated for auction two years ago by Henderson and Clark County before being withdrawn over unresolved mining claims.

That joint nomination came before the two sides became embroiled in a dispute when Henderson tried to annex 3,626 acres of Bureau of Land Management Property along the city's southwestern border a year ago.

Some Clark County commissioners have opposed that large of an annexation because it would give Henderson control of a future South Strip resort corridor and a chance to expand south toward Jean. The issue may have to be resolved by the BLM.

While the 700 acres in the new proposed deal do not fall along Las Vegas Boulevard South, their future is a sticky issue between the two sides, which have yet to reach an agreement over Henderson's future boundaries.

County officials were miffed that they did not learn until Friday of the city's plans to nominate the 700 acres - and even then, only by reading its Web site. The Henderson City Council is scheduled to vote on the nomination tonight.

"That is not being very neighborly," County Commissioner Tom Collins said. "I guess maybe they need our phone number. They should call us."

Henderson Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers, however, stressed that communications works both ways.

"I guess if the county feels some type of lack of communication, maybe it's more a lack of understanding since two years ago we agreed it would be nominated for the city of Henderson," she said.

The 700 acres are part of an "island" not linked to unincorporated land already under Clark County's control .

Clark County has proposed boundaries that would cede the 700 acres to Henderson, but plans to keep the city away from any South Strip corridor.

"I can't say at this point whether we will oppose it or not oppose it," Chuck Pulsipher, Clark County's planning manager, said about the nomination. "Based on past history, when cities wanted to nominate land, we haven't objected to it."

Henderson officials consider the joint nomination two years ago to still be in effect and do not anticipate any objections. Stephanie Garcia-Vause, Henderson's deputy director of long-range planning, said any bidder who acquires the 700 acres in a federal auction likely would petition for its annexation into the city anyway.

"We have a reasonable expectation that whoever the successful bidder is will want to be part of the city," Garcia-Vause said. "The connection to utilities are much closer compared to Clark County."

Merv Boyd, a BLM assistant field manager, said he expects the county and Henderson to work out any concerns and allow a December auction to proceed. Although optimistic that an agreement will be reached over the future South Strip corridor, Boyd stressed that the BLM would not back any annexation until the two sides reach a deal.

"There needs to be reasonable compromise struck," Boyd said. "Neither side will be able to get what they want but something they can live with."

Under Nevada law, the BLM must concur with the annexation of federal land, Boyd said.

North of the 700-acre site, Focus Property Group is moving ahead with Inspirada on nearly 2,000 acres purchased for $557 million in June 2004. Model homes are expected to be finished by the end of the year in a community that eventually will have 11,500 homes.

The remaining three sites, the largest of which is 1,520 acres, are west of Inspirada.

Henderson wants the area to include a mix of residential and commercial uses, with the 700 acres expected to be residential.

Under the city's auction plan, 70 acres would be set aside for development as affordable housing.

Instead of auctioning land to the highest bidder, the city would acquire the land from the BLM at a reduced rate and then seek proposals from developers to build workforce housing.

That plan would mirror a Clark County pilot program approved last year and one approved last week by Las Vegas. Clark County plans a senior apartment complex at Jones Boulevard and Harmon Avenue, while Las Vegas is planning apartments for lower-income residents.

Henderson is mulling everything from apartments to condos and single-family homes for its affordable housing, but has no timetable for developing a proposal, said Skeet Fitzgerald, Henderson's Neighborhood Services Department director.

"We are very excited about the opportunity for workforce housing and to get citizens on the road to home ownership at affordable prices," said John Rinaldi, Henderson's manager of property and redevelopment.