Luxury home plan overlooking Red Rock Canyon angers group

Clark County lawmakers precocious approved gathering homes connected a gypsum excavation overlooking Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, which has been the subject of a yearslong debate astir biology interaction and backstage development.

But the task connected Blue Diamond Hill approved Aug. 4 is not the aforesaid arsenic developer Gypsum Resources’ arguable connection to conception 3,000 houses that has faced fierce pushback from biology advocates and been ensnared successful a bitter ineligible battle.

Instead the committee unanimously signed disconnected connected a slimmed-down task from the developer: a planned portion improvement and tentative representation to conception 280 luxury homes crossed 563 acres.

Opponents, however, were nary little upset.

“We basal by our connection that this contented is not ripe for reappraisal owed to it not complying with the Clark County Code nor being decently vetted,” Heather Fisher, president of Save Red Rock, said successful a statement.

Degradation oregon transformation?

Save Red Rock, an biology nonprofit, has agelong been against processing lodging connected the site, which is surrounded connected 3 sides — and portions of the eastbound — by the conservation area.

Fisher said determination remained questions astir the project’s entree to a ineligible roadworthy and to water, “and the degradation of the wide Red Rock Canyon experience.”

But region officials said the scaled-back program complied with agrarian zoning standards of 1 portion for each 2 acres and, dissimilar proposals successful the past, it was not seeking to summation density. There was besides nary contented with preserving a earthy mounting since the tract already has been oregon volition beryllium mined, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Robert Warhola.

In a connection pursuing the commission’s approval, Gypsum Resources said it would beryllium moving guardant instantly to enactment with designers and architects to hole last improvement plans.

“Gypsum tin present proceed successful transforming a portion excavation to the astir exclusive residential assemblage successful the region,” the institution said.

Even so, Commissioner Tick Segerblom suggested determination was a agelong roadworthy up earlier the task came to fruition, with “so galore issues” inactive to beryllium addressed.

“But conscionable successful the precise basal conception of, the onshore usage matches what they’ve asked for, past I deliberation astatine this constituent we person to ballot successful favor,” helium said during the Aug. 4 committee meeting.

Long history

Since astatine slightest 2003, Gypsum Resources has sought to physique homes connected Blue Diamond Hill, but efforts person stalled, astir precocious related to the timing of national support for an entree road.

Gypsum Resources filed for bankruptcy 2 years ago, blaming overmuch of its fiscal predicament connected task delays. It besides sued the region for breach of contract, owed process violations and different alleged wrongdoings related to delays implicit the past decade.

In May, Gypsum Resources accused Commissioner Justin Jones, who served arsenic Save Red Rock’s ineligible counsel earlier his election, of misleading the authorities morals committee and making a “clandestine deal” with Gov. Steve Sisolak — past the committee president — to stymie the projected 3,000-home project.

Sisolak’s run and Jones person refuted the claims.

Jones declined to remark Wednesday connected his ballot successful favour of the 280-home project, citing the ongoing litigation.

The territory attorney’s bureau believed that Jones and the remainder of the committee past week could see and ballot connected the project, Warhola said, due to the fact that it was antithetic from ongoing ineligible matters.

Work to beryllium done

Ron Krater, a spokesperson for the developer, described the approved task successful an email this week arsenic simply a “first signifier of development.”

It besides calls for a imaginable 18-hole play people and clubhouse that volition necessitate a onshore usage application, according to a region unit report.

Gypsum Resources volition person to supply paved ineligible entree to the task tract and execute a postulation survey successful the future, Warhola said.

The institution volition beryllium filing a caller exertion for a right-of-way to supply entree for conveyance postulation and inferior infrastructure crossed national property, according to Krater, due to the fact that the tract is not presently served by nationalist h2o oregon sewer.

As the program moves ahead, Fisher vowed that Save Red Rock volition support its oculus connected it.

“We volition proceed to show each facet of this project, and explicit our concerns astatine aboriginal region meetings,” she said.

Contact Shea Johnson astatine sjohnson@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-0272. Follow @Shea_LVRJ connected Twitter.