LOOKING IN ON: CITY HALL

Monday, Dec. 3, 2007 | 7:13 a.m.

The controversy over the 90 percent discount that the city of Las Vegas gave to an out-of-state affordable housing developer that did not have to compete for a 15.25-acre parcel of land worth $14.5 million comes as Clark County has two similar projects in the works.

Neither of the county projects, however, has generated anywhere near as much skepticism and grumbling.

That might be because both went through a bidding process, each received several bids, and the county had a panel of private individuals and county staffers review each proposal to ferret out the best one.

The county's first project, Harmon Pines, at Jones Boulevard and Harmon Avenue, is a 105-unit senior-living complex set to open within weeks. Another project, Arbor Pointe Apartments, a 180-unit multifamily rental complex also with units for seniors, is in the far southwest part of the Valley. Doug Bell, Clark County manager of community resources, said that project could break ground by the end of the year.

The two projects are the first in Clark County to take advantage of a federal law that allows the Bureau of Land Management to sell discounted land to local governments for affordable housing. Roughly 1,200 acres of that BLM land is to be used for similar projects in the future.

Bell said Harmon Pines produced almost 10 bids from developers and Arbor Pointe drew six.

When the City Council debated what to do about The Tapestry Group project, city staffers told council members they found no interest in the 15.25 acres of land at Tenaya Way and Westcliff Drive.

Of course, the city didn't start the process by sending out requests for proposals, or RFPs, as Clark County did.

"I'd like to think we're pretty careful," Bell said. "It was a lot of work, but we are trying to reduce the risk to potential developers, who have to spend quite a bit of money to respond to an RFP."

Going through the RFP process isn't always what a developer wants. In fact, The Tapestry Group vowed to pull out of its Las Vegas plan if the city forced the company to go through the process.

Bell, however, said that the RFP process helps, "from the standpoint of the community, to get the best possible project."

Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian tried to get the city to do something similar at the City Council's Nov. 21 meeting. The council gave the land deal to The Tapestry Group, with whom the city had earlier entered into an exclusive agreement.

Tarkanian pointed out, however, that The Tapestry Group failed to renew that agreement when it lapsed, giving the city the opportunity to seek other bidders. In fact, one city department already had sent out a request for proposals after the agreement lapsed.

That didn't matter. Three council members, Gary Reese, Steve Wolfson and Larry Brown, and Mayor Oscar Goodman voted for the project against the three votes of Tarkanian, Ricki Barlow and Steve Ross.

Talking about the Clark County process after the meeting, City Manager Douglas Selby said: "Maybe we can learn from them."

Professional football is closer to becoming a Las Vegas reality.

Goodman and Rossi Ralenkotter, president/CEO for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, met with a representative of the United Football League Wednesday to discuss the possibility of a Las Vegas team beginning play next fall.

The UFL is the brainchild of Mark Cuban, owner of the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks.

Cuban said this year he believes there is enough interest in the country for two professional football leagues.

The National Football League has never come close to bringing a team to Las Vegas. The NFL is so fearful of the city's Sin City persona and its gambling roots that it doesn't even allow Las Vegas commercials to be televised during the Super Bowl.

Goodman said other U.S. cities that will have UFL teams include Los Angeles and New York. Cuban also wants to field a team in Monterrey, Mexico.

Cuban could not be reached for comment.

Goodman said the UFL representative characterized the league as consisting of players who, more or less, would be ranked 25th to 52nd on an NFL team roster.

"He made a compelling argument that a team like that would succeed," Goodman said.