Logandale Mesas Developer Poised To Move Forward

By VERNON ROBISON

Moapa Valley Progress

Within the coming months, the Moapa Valley may be seeing its first new residential development in more than a decade begin construction. The Logandale Mesas project received zoning approval from the County Commission in December and has now started the tentative map process.

“It has taken us two years with working with the residents out there to get our zoning approved,” said developer Randy Aleman last week in an interview with the Progress. “We made a lot of changes to suit the folks out there. And, of course, there are still a lot of factors to work through with the county. But we are hoping for about a year to 18 months out before you might see building.”

The Logandale Mesas project is located on 79 acres in the vicinity of Gubler Avenue and Yamashita Street on the east of Logandale. In December, the County Commission approved 166 lots on the property for a single family residential subdivision.

“We have been working with Commissioner (Marilyn) Kirkpatrick and the neighbors for two years now,” said developer spokesperson Liz Delk at the December 17 meeting before the Commissioners. “We want to thank them all for keeping the lines of communication open.”

The overall density of the project comes in at a little more than two units per acre. But because of concerns from the neighbors, in the area, the developer agreed to a Planned Unit Development (PUD) which allows for a variety of different lot sizes ranging from full acre lots down to 10,000 sq ft.

One condition requested by neighbors in the area was that all lots on the perimeter of the development be a minimum of one acre in size. This request was accommodated in the final plans presented to the Commissioners.

Additional conditions included street lights to be placed at development access points, paving on Gubler from St. Joseph, paving on Yamashita from Wittwer, and a walking path alongside Yamashita to the Moapa Valley High School.
“I appreciate you working with us for so long on this,” Commissioner Kirkpatrick told the developer in her comments at the December meeting.

Kirkpatrick said that it was important to the community that the project be kept within the “rural nature” of the surrounding area.
She asked that sidewalks on the interior streets of the new neighborhood not be included in the plans.

“I don’t want to see (sidewalks) at this time,” Kirkpatrick said. “This is a rural community. If you put a cookie-cutter Las Vegas development out there, it just wouldn’t work.”

Kirkpatrick also insisted that full streetscape improvements, including sidewalks, curbs, gutters and streetlights, were not wanted along the major access roads of Gubler or Yamashita at this time.

“We don’t need the sidewalks out there,” she said. “If sometime we need sidewalks on Yamashita because it becomes busy along there, then I will address that with the county at that point in how we get that done.”

Aleman said last week that he was excited to finally move forward to serve a need that exists in the real estate market in the community.
“This will allow young people who grew up out there to have a place to return to,” Aleman said. “It will also allow a place for a segment of the people who will be working in the Apex area to have an alternative to living in the city.”

Aleman said that he was optimistic about the future of the Moapa Valley community.
“I am heavily invested in that community out there and have been for many years,” he said. “I believe in the Moapa Valley and its future, and I look forward to seeing it do well.”