Proposed changes unveiled for northwest Beltway
Clark County Commissioner Larry Brown hosted a Sept. 10 land use meeting at Mountain Crest Park, and the big news of the night was future improvements coming to the northwest 215 Beltway.
Roughly 75 residents attended the meeting at the park’s community center, 1407 N. Durango Drive. Improvements are slated to start just south of Lone Mountain Road and go behind Centennial Parkway just short of Hualapai Way, creating a seamless Beltway free of traffic stops for that area.
Brown said the three major components are an at-grade interchange at Lone Mountain Road — “That is, if you stay on the Beltway, you will go underneath the interchange,” he said — and likewise at Ann Road. He said the entire Beltway through that area is depressed, meaning the road is lower than the land on which homes and businesses sit, as it is through Summerlin and Sun City Summerlin. A dedicated overpass is planned for Centennial Parkway.
He said flood control components also are part of the plan, as is a trail system.
“At the end of the year, it goes out to bid, and we hope to see construction the first quarter of 2015,” he said.
Clark County senior planner Paul Doerr said the only land issue that he and Clark County principal planner Kevin Smedley had to announce was a request by a property owner along Jones Boulevard in Commissioner Tom Collins’ district. That landowner is looking to get an office/professional designation between Ann Road and Tropical Parkway.
“Staff is supporting it, but we’ll have to see how it goes though the hearing process on whether it gets approved or not,” Doerr said.
Another land issue was off El Capitan Way near the boundary of Lone Mountain Road, a county island with half-acre lots.
“The majority of people have horses, arenas, equestrian centers,” Doerr said. “They’re requesting that (future lots) be made a minimum of an acre instead of a half-acre.”
During the meeting, other topics were discussed as audience members asked for clarification, such as lot sizes for specific areas, sound walls, bike routes and dumpster concerns. Brown complimented builders with coming up with a new way to orient homes to make better use of land. He said at Tropical Parkway and Conquistador Street, DR Horton “instead of doing two traditional cul-de-sacs, they had a new design where a couple homes were facing out and a couple homes were facing in. It had never been introduced out there.”
He also chastised builders who had a tendency to “build up” lot elevations so they could be sold as having better views.
“We’re addressing that and have been addressing that for about the last year and a half,” Brown said. “They can certainly submit their grading plan, but with it, they have to submit their justification for it. In the past, they just submitted their plan and then adjusted it after (official approval).”
Resident Michael Smoody attended to see what the master plan was for the area. His main concern?
“That we keep it the way it is,” he said. “I like the rural setting. I’ve lived out here for 23 years, and there was nothing around here then. None of it was here. The Beltway wasn’t even there.”
Bruce Thompson said he and his wife, Susan, live near Tropical and Centennial parkways.
“They’re talking about putting the interchange in at Ann,” he said, pointing to an oversized map on an easel. “They need that improved because, right now, right across the street, is the school district (bus parking lot), so this street (Ann Road) gets really backed up in the morning. If you’re trying to make a left-hand turn there, it can take you, oh, about 20 minutes. It backs up to here, and you’ve got all the kids going to (Centennial High School) over here, so it’s busy.”
Thompson said he also was concerned about the power being used to light the bus depot, which he estimated has 300 large flood lights that are on from sundown to sunrise.
“That’s ridiculous,” he said. “These things are 6,000, 7,000 watts apiece. That’s more than my house can use.”
The next public hearing is slated for 6 p.m. Oct. 28 at Mountain Crest Park. For more information, visit clarkcountynv.gov.
Contact Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 702-387-2949.
