Luxury builder Blue Heron delays 61-lot Las Vegas housing plan after neighbors and city staff object

What happened

Luxury homebuilder Blue Heron has plans for a 61-lot housing tract on nearly 12.9 acres at the southeast corner of Alta and Campbell drives in an older part of Las Vegas, according to city records cited by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The Las Vegas Planning Commission was scheduled to consider the proposal on Tuesday.

City spokesman Jace Radke said Monday that the applicant asked to hold the item and that it could move to the commission's next meeting on Nov. 10, the Review-Journal reported. Blue Heron said it is holding the application for one month to revise the plan and reduce density.

What Blue Heron proposed

The site is surrounded by homes on large lots, typically in the half-acre to 1-acre range, the Review-Journal reported. Plans Blue Heron filed with the city show a density of 4.74 lots per acre, which works out to 0.2-acre lots on average.

Lot sizes and variances

City staff reported that the developer requested 42 variances. In several cases, those would shrink the minimum lot size from the required 6,500 square feet to 3,418 square feet, the minimum width from 60 feet to 20 feet, and the minimum front setback from 20 feet to 5 feet.

Who owns the land

Property records indicate that former casino magnate Steve Wynn owns the project site, according to the Review-Journal. Land-use attorney Stephanie Gronauer, representing the developer, wrote to city officials in August that the site has sat vacant for years and drawn homeless and illegal activity.

Why city staff recommended denial

A city staff report said the subdivision would bring "much-needed housing stock" to Las Vegas but is "an attempt to overdevelop" the site. Staff found that the project as originally proposed "is not compatible or harmonious with the surrounding area" and recommended denying it.

Readers following other proposals that test how new building fits into established areas can find more coverage in our development section.

What neighbors are saying

Concerns about neighborhood character

Bonnie Barberini, a real estate broker who has lived in her mid-century house across the street for some 30 years, told the Review-Journal, "They will have a fight on their hands to the end." She said she loves Blue Heron's homes and would embrace a plan with fewer houses, but she believes the current proposal would ruin the area.

Caleb Sheldon, who lives across from the site, said every house in the neighborhood is different and compared the plan to a "suburban subdivision plopped inside." Real estate agent Alexis Tenner, who lives in a 1960s-era house about a mile away, said the plan calls for too many homes and "takes away from the charm that is our area."

Concerns about precedent

Mica Keller, who lives near the site, said she is concerned by the number of variances Blue Heron is seeking and that approving them could set a precedent for the city. "It completely changes the entire community here," she told the Review-Journal.

What the developer says

In a statement Monday night, Blue Heron said it has deep roots in the Las Vegas Valley and that its plans were "thoughtfully designed to respect and complement the character and history of this special neighborhood." The company said it has heard the neighbors' concerns.

Gronauer wrote that the project would offer a product type that does not currently exist in the area while keeping pricing compatible with existing homes. She also said the subdivision would help the neighborhood by eliminating a nuisance along a highly traveled thoroughfare. More local housing coverage is in our real estate section.

What to watch next

• Whether the proposal returns to the Las Vegas Planning Commission at its next meeting on Nov. 10, as the city spokesman said it could.
• What changes Blue Heron makes during its one-month hold to revise the plan and reduce density.
• How many of the 42 requested variances remain in a revised application.