By GWENDOLYN WEILER
Moapa Valley Progress
About 15 local residents gathered at the Overton Community Center on Wednesday, June 6, to review the revised plans for The Mesas Logandale—a 169-unit housing development being planned for Logandale. The proposed project would span about 70 acres in the area south of Gubler and east of Yamashita.
This was the latest in a series of meeting which development representatives had held with residents in order to hear and address concerns and get feedback on where to improve the design.
So neighborhood residents expressed frustration that the development was being built at all.
“Are we doing any good coming here?” asked Jim Ericson, whose property is in the vicinity of the proposed development. “I mean, I’m pretty sure none of us want you to build this thing. But are we just wasting our time caring? Are you going to build anyway?”
Elisabeth Delk, representing the developer at the meeting, said that the intention is to move forward with the application process in an attempt to build. But even so, the community feedback matters to the group, she said.
Development representatives first met with the community a little over a year ago to reveal their plans. They met with a good deal of resistance from nearby residents. They then spent the year making changes to the designs based on the community feedback and concerns they had heard. In May the group returned to show their revised design and receive more feedback. Wednesday, they showed yet another redesign.
One of the biggest concerns for surrounding residents is the size of the lots being proposed. The current residents in the area are on lots at least two acres in size, while the lots on the new development would range between 10,000 square feet and 3/4 acres.
“The people who are out here are out here for the elbow room,” said one community member.
The developers have taken this into consideration and, based on previous feedback, redesigned the layout to include a larger number of ¾ and half-acre lots—largely lining the perimeters of the development—and fewer 10,000-square-foot lots, most of which are now concentrated on the interior of the development. However, this change has required the addition of more land to the plan.
Residents said that the plan doesn’t address the differences in how the adjacent properties are being used.
“You’re gonna have a guy on the two acres across the street whose got horses, pigs, cows and whatever, and the guy across from him is going to be moaning about all those animals,” said Logandale resident Ralph Starita.
Another common concern was how the community and schools will be able to accommodate such a large influx of people. Delk admitted that a study of the area confirmed that the additional number of children going to the already-full schools in the area will be something that needs to be addressed.
She also stated that the local police department has confirmed that it is equipped to handle the proposed growth. The fire department is less certain of impacts, because it is a wholly volunteer service, and therefore difficult to quantify, Delk said.
Some in attendance expressed a concern about the market conditions. They worried about who would buy the new homes. Delk said that residential growth is expected in the region due to industrial construction occurring at Apex and the Speedway areas in North Las Vegas. In addition to that, many families already here would like their children to be able to move here or stay here, Delk said.
This idea was quickly dismissed by several residents, who felt that the homes, which will start in the low $200,000s for the smallest lots and go up from there, are priced outside of that possibility. “That’s like would you rather give $5 million or $10 million,” said Ericson. “The people here can’t do it.”
Delk promised that the developers will build as they sell. Therefore, the development is expected to roll out in phases over the next three years, starting on the Yamashita side and rolling out toward Gubler.
The developers plan to submit the application to Clark County in mid-June. The application would be heard before the Moapa Valley Town Advisory Board on Sept 26. The developer would then go before the Planning Commission on Oct 16. A final hearing would then be held at the Board of County Commissioners on Nov 20.
Delk added the developer is also required to host another official neighborhood meeting once they file the application. Notice of that meeting will go out to all residents within 1,500 feet of the proposed development.
All residents who have attended the meetings and provided an email address will receive an email notification of the final neighborhood meeting once the date is firm.
