Fight to continue against Red Rock Canyon housing development
The battle being waged by The Killers and other celebrities, economists, geologists and experts is continuing despite last week’s decision by Clark County Commissioners to not oppose the proposal by developer Jim Rhodes to build more than 5,000 homes in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.
Save Red Rock President Heather Fisher presented the commission with more than 45,000 signed petitions asking to keep Red Rock rural. Among the many who testified against the Rhodes/Gypsum proposal were Robert Reynolds, manager of The Killers, Congresswoman Jacky Rosen, rock climber Alex Honnald, BMX rider T.J. Lavin, geologists and economists.
But a majority of the County Commission ignored the public outcry and testimony from experts and voted 5-2 to allow Gypsum to proceed with its plan for sprawl development in Red Rock. “We applaud Commissioners Chris Giunchigliani and Lawrence Weekly for listening to their constituents and voting to preserve Red Rock,” said Heather.
“By contrast, Commissioners Steve Sisolak, Susan Brager, Larry Brown, Mary Beth Scow and Marilyn Kirkpatrick all ignored the will of the voters and voted again to spoil the rural character of Red Rock Canyon. Despite our disappointment with the County Commission vote, SRR is determined to continue the fight to preserve Red Rock from high-density development.
“First, SRR will aggressively pursue the county in court, including depositions of county staff and commissioners. SRR will then ask the judge to rule that, contrary to what the county said at the hearing, Gypsum’s 2011 development plan expired.”
Whatever the outcome in the lawsuit, Gypsum will have to return to the County Commission before it can take the next step in the development process. “When it does, the County Commission can be assured that SRR and its supporters will be there to speak out even louder and even stronger,” Heather added.
Supporters are encouraged to advocate and support SRR by signing the petition, currently with some 48,000 signatures, emailing their County Commissioners and donating to the cause at SaveRedRock.com.
About Save Red Rock
Save Red Rock is a group of residents working to preserve the safety, serenity and scenic nature of Red Rock Canyon. The group strives to protect the rural character and prioritize recreational and environmental needs over uses not conducive to the primary uses for the canyon. More: SaveRedRock.com and Save Red Rock on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.