Study to determine feasibility of Laughlin incorporation

By Cy Ryan

Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011 | 11:50 p.m.

The Nevada Tax Department will conduct a study to determine if the town of Laughlin could support itself as an independent municipality. The study will be completed by the end of the year.

A group of developers is pushing the plan for Laughlin — a casino town about 90 miles south of Las Vegas — to incorporate to give them more say over their planning and zoning, now done through Clark County.

Robert Bilbray, vice president of the Laughlin Economic Development Corp., told the Local Government Finance Committee it takes three years to get a permit from Clark County for development.

Warner Ambrose of the Nevada Tax Department said the people in Laughlin want more control over their zoning.

The casinos in Laughlin want no part of the incorporation and would remain under the jurisdiction of Clark County.

There is no history in Nevada of splitting a town in half. The plan raises questions such as would the new city sweep one side of the street and the county the other?

Plans call for the issue to be placed on the ballot in Laughlin in the June primary election.

Part of the equation involves whether a $6.5 billion solar project proposed by a Chinese company is built on 5,400 acres about a mile south of Laughlin, giving the town a big financial boost.

Marvin Leavitt, chairman of the finance committee, said nobody knows the feasibility of the project and it hasn’t been approved.

“Projects like this make me nervous,” he said.

Committee members said the study should include a worst-case and best-case scenario, based on whether the solar project goes through.