Housing developments outgrowing no-gunfire zone in Clark County

As development in Clark County expands outward and officials push to open more federal land to new economic activity, developments are bumping up against bullets.

So Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones has proposed extending the current boundary where discharging firearms is prohibited to ensure it encompasses all developed areas in the unincorporated areas of the county.

“There are currently developments that are being proposed that are outside of the (existing) boundary for unsafe discharge of firearms,” Jones said this week. He says he has encountered people shooting just beyond the Mountain’s Edge community in the southwest, and a bicyclist on an organized event ride was shot in the ankle.

Jones pointed to Lovell Canyon to the west of the valley as one example. Heather Fisher, president of the Save Red Rock group, has said riding her bike there is dangerous.

“Whenever I ride in Lovell Canyon, there’s one scary spot where people are shooting across the street,” she said. “And I just have to ride really fast and hope I don’t get shot.”

The zone where it is illegal to discharge a firearm excludes shooting ranges and events sanctioned by government agencies. It generally includes unincorporated towns and urbanized areas, as well as regions within a half-mile of highways and within 500 feet of public or private road, trail, campground and picnic area, according to the county code.

Contact Shea Johnson at sjohnson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @Shea_LVRJ on Twitter.

Firearms Discharge Map by Las Vegas Review-Journal on Scribd