LETTER: Red Rock development ‘compromise’ is depressing

I found the Tuesday article, “Gypsum’s settlement near,” very depressing. For more than a decade, a developer has pressed to develop thousands of homes near Red Rock Canyon. According to the Review-Journal, “Clark County is expected to reach a settlement” for the development of 3,500 homes. I view this as an example of how one person with deep pockets and persistence can legally diminish a precious National Conservation Area. There are so many things wrong with the development plan that it’s hard to know where to start.

At the heart of the matter is the fact that the land in question was not zoned or planned for residential development. Nor does the property have the necessary easements for such development. The property also lacks the necessary infrastructure for 3,500 homes. Perhaps the most outrageous statement of the project is that it promises a development that “balances the natural environment.”

Red Rock Canyon is a fragile natural wonder. To claim that 3,500 homes and the traffic that goes with them, and changing the nature of the watershed, will not negatively impact the area is absurd. It’s not nice, but I believe our commissioners must be under influences that have nothing to do with serving public needs or our precious natural resources.