Westward expansion of city expected to continue

Buildout of Summerlin could take until 2035

Gun hammers are zapping in nails. Electric saws are powering through lumber. The growth just seems to continue. As the valley expands, just how far west can development go and will it creep closer to Red Rock National Conservation Area?

According to the Clark County Planning Commission, a so-called "urban growth boundary" extends around the valley. But that boundary is fluid. For now, the Bureau of Land Management has agreed not to release any more land. That is a federal agreement, so it would take an act of Congress to change.

"Within that boundary, the BLM will probably, in the next few years, be disposing of all their property through auctions," said Chuck Pulispher, zoning administrator for the county.

When it comes to city land, Andrew Powell, a statistical analyst in the comprehensive planning department, said there are about 9,000 undeveloped acres west of the Las Vegas Beltway. The western boundary of the city butts up against Red Rock National Conservation Area.

The area west of the Beltway, but still part of Summerlin, is expected to reach build-out by 2015. Some of the lands to the far west, Powell said, could take as long as 2035 to reach full development.

"It is difficult to predict an exact time frame given the range of variables that could affect the development of the area," he said.

Where some sections of the valley's city and county land are checkerboarded, this is one contiguous parcel of raw land, running north past Lone Mountain Road.

The Paseos is the Howard Hughes Corporation's newest and most westerly development and began going up in 2003.

The Paseos covers 375 acres and consists of 14 residential parcels. The master-planned area includes a 14-acre community park with areas set aside for educational and worship facilities. Once it's built out, it will consist of roughly 1,900 homes. There is no estimated build-out date at this time as there are still some parcels Hughes has not released for sale.

Hughes' land extends as far north as Cheyenne Avenue. Many residents wonder if the company is looking for land closer to Red Rock.

"Are we currently engaged in trying to find more land that belongs to the BLM to the west of us?" said Tom Warden, vice president of community relations for the developer. "The answer is no. We're doing just the opposite."

He pointed out how the corporation has been praised for its strong stewardship of the environment.

In 1988, Hughes Corp. owned 5,000 acres that ran along the highway "right up to the doorstep of the visitor's center," Warden said. "We gave that up. To be frank, it was spectacular land and would have made for a spectacular development. Unfortunately, nobody remembers that. They say, 'Oh, look, you're building right up to Red Rock.' "

In 2002, the corporation gave up another 1,083 acres of sensitive high ground adjacent to the National Conservation Area in a swap to acquire 988 acres off the southern tip of Summerlin.

Now concerns over Indian cultural sites are in the spotlight.

In November 2003, the developer entered the 404 permitting process conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers. Hughes Corp. agreed to set aside 75 acres where five Native American cultural sites -- petroglyphs and other historic evidence -- are located.

Those sites will be recorded on the register of historical places, a move which will protect them in perpetuity. Another 200 acres will be set aside as well. The latter area contains natural washes, which means a Clean Water Act permit is required by the Army Corps of Engineers before it can be developed.

Warden called it an "elegant solution" to protecting the sites. Hughes officials say they are committed to preserving the cultural sites and have had archaeologists document them.

Much of the historical record in the area consists of petroglyphs. Petroglyphs deteriorate from the oils on human hands and are too fragile to stand up to pencil rubbings.

Permits to go on that land are only granted to archeological groups or legitimate organizations with a stake in cultural sites. Prior to the land being under federal protection, Hughes Corp. tried to secure it from damage due to off-road vehicles.

"We put caliche boulders along Charleston," Warden said. "Within days, they were moved. I'm talking about boulders no one person could push. They must have come in there with bulldozers or something."

Don Hendricks, a local retiree who is involved with various groups like ArcheoNevada, Friends of Gold Butte and Friends of Little Red Rock, warned being on the historical register may not be enough to protect the sites, some of which include fire rings, agave roasting pits and possibly burial locations.

He said Hughes can still build on the land surrounding the cultural sites, creating little parks where artifacts appear.

Over the years, rowdy teens, careless campers and graffiti painters hike out to the sites and vandalize them. If homes go up around the sites, access to them will be even easier.

Hendricks suggested protection might ultimately be under the auspices of home owner associations, which "can't even agree on things like whether to allow rolling shutters," he said.

To counter that contention, Hughes said it will not develop or disturb any of the land within the 75 acres

"We could indeed develop up to the edge of those identified lands, but the development in that area will not be a sea of rooftops or look like the developments further east such as The Vistas or Paseos," Warden said. "Instead, the development in that area will likely include open space such as a golf course woven around the cultural sites."

He also said native vegetation will be preserved and any homes would have to adhere to color palettes indigenous to the desert and "in architectural forms that blend with the natural view shed."

Las Vegas Paiute Tribe representative Kenny Anderson said the consensus of the tribe is that members should be involved in determining what happens at the cultural sites, even on private land.

Although he said the Hughes Corp. should have notified the tribe back in November when it entered into the 404 process, Anderson also said the developer was respectful of the tribe's needs.

"Hopefully, they'll protect the sites as best they can for the sake of all Las Vegas," Anderson said.


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