Housing development around the scenic Red Rock Conservation Area near Las Vegas will be permanently restricted under a bill signed into law Monday by Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn.
SB358 locks in boundary lines already approved by the Clark County Commission to block dense development around Red Rock.
The measure's chief sponsor, Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said during Senate debate on the measure that Red Rock is "the heart and soul of southern Nevada" and "an awe-inspiring desert playground" that should be protected and preserved.
Titus' bill won such strong support from southern Nevada officials and other groups that it was amended to make development limits permanent. It originally would have been a temporary fix, leaving permanent development boundaries up to Clark County voters.
Other proponents included Assemblyman Chad Christensen, R-Las Vegas, whose district encompasses Red Rock. He said the area is one of southern Nevada's natural treasurers, and public support for the environmental protection measure was strong.
Approval of the bill was a slap at developer Jim Rhodes, who owns 2,400 acres of land near the conservation area and wanted to build up to 5,500 homes atop Blue Diamond Hill. Rhodes orchestrated a recent media campaign claiming that development would help restore the land.
"It took Mother Nature 600 million years to create Red Rock," Titus said. "It takes only one developer to destroy it."
In approving the bill, the Legislature also rejected arguments the state should stay out of local zoning regulations.
