MVTAB Approves Two Zoning Requests

By VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

The members of the Moapa Valley Town Advisory Board (MVTAB) voted to approve two separate zoning requests brought before them at a meeting held Wednesday, April 14.

The first was a simple request for an extension of time brought by The Mesas of Logandale project, a proposed single family residential development for a 79 acre property roughly south of Gubler Ave and east of Yamashita Street in Logandale.

Property owner and developer Randy Aleman explained to the board that no changes had been made to the project since it was originally presented and approved in 2018.

“At that time, we worked with staff, with the neighbors and the community and we tried to do everything we could to appease them and make folks happy,” Aleman said.

This included placing larger sized lots at the perimeter of the development as a buffer. Smaller lots were placed to the interior of the proposed neighborhood.

Aleman emphasized that the overall density of the project was two units per acre. Though some of the interior lots were significantly smaller than that to accommodate the much larger lots along the exterior, he said.

Aleman also noted that the project would be extending the sewer line from the high school north along Yamashita St. in order to hook the new neighborhood into it. Water lines would also be extended to that area by the developer, he said.
“I think this is probably the first project in Logandale that has actually public sewer,” Aleman said.

“We spent a lot of time on this project,” Aleman concluded. “We have a lot of money invested in it. Unfortunately, the market hasn’t caught up to where it was yet. We think that it is getting there and that the project will stand on its own merits. We are just asking for more time.”

MVTAB member Brian Burris expressed concern about many of the lots that were smaller than a half acre. He felt it would set a dangerous precedent for future builders after the community had so adamantly held to a half-acre lot minimum for so long.

Aleman said that, if it was the community’s desire, he would gladly change the development to half-acre lots across the board.

But MVTAB member Megan Porter, who is an immediate neighbor to the proposed project, explained that the current plan represented a concession made to herself and other neighbors in the area to keep larger buffering lots on the exterior.

In the end, though Burris expressed general opposition to the project, he admitted that, with no material changes being submitted, the property owner was entitled to the extension of time.

Burris made a motion to recommend acceptance of the request. The motion was adopted with a unanimous vote of the board.
The matter will come before the County Commission on Wed. April 21.

The second request came from Valley Commercial Properties, a local group of health care providers seeking to build a new commercial building on a one-acre lot in downtown Overton. The lot is located at 161 N. Moapa Valley Blvd., formerly occupied by the Shears Salon.

Logandale resident Cody Hughes, who is the owner of Valley Pediatric Dental, explained to the board that he had partnered with Dr. Ryan Jolley, an orthodontist who also lives in Logandale, on the project.

The two wanted to build a facility which would accommodate, not only their own practices, but also some other much-needed services for the community.

“We have contacted a couple of other health service providers out here who are also very excited about the possibility,” Hughes said.

The project would include a two-story, 11,000 sq ft commercial building. The top floor would house the practices of Hughes and Jolley. The bottom floor would be a new location for FIT Physical Therapy and another medical professional service yet to be officially named, Hughes said.

“Dr. Jolley and I both have a desire to enhance and improve the services available to the community,” Hughes said. “We look forward to continuing to serve the community’s oral health care needs in a clinic custom-built to provide a better experience for our patients.”

The zoning request before the MVTAB was for a list of waivers to standards. These waivers were found to be necessary in order to fit the proposed building, as well as required parking, onto the irregular shape and size of the lot.

The project would have two entry points for traffic. The front entrance from Moapa Valley Blvd would enter a small parking lot just south of Moapa Valley Family Resource Center Thrift Store. The second would access a parking lot to the rear of the building from Bonelli Ave.

The rear portion of the lot would include a landscaped area to buffer between the commercial building and the residential zoned property to the west.

Hughes said that the portable building currently on site would be donated to the Moapa Valley Fire District to be used as a dormitory building for firefighters on duty.

In the end, Burris made a motion to recommend approval of the requests. This motion was adopted with a unanimous vote.

This item will be heard before the County Planning Commission at a meeting on May 4.