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July 22, 2002 Las Vegas Review Journal Re: 8,400 Houses in Red Rock Canyon-National Conservation Area Dear Editor: Red Rock Canyon is going to be exploitatively damaged by a huge double land swap that will place 8,400 houses in the middle of National Conservation land. The deal is sweet for the big players involved. Unfortunately, if the deal is not stopped, Southern Nevadans will be left with a tarnished gem. We need to protect Red Rock Canyon now from being tarnished forever. The deal is strategically and politically complicated; however, the result is not. James Hardie Gypsum sold its plant to a British company and sold a 2-year option on its 2,500 acres of mine land to British builder, John Laing Homes. Hardie and Laing are working the federal government to swap 500 acres of its nonbuildable land for 1,000 acres of BLM buildable land. Laing Homes is simultaneously working our County Commissioners to approve the major development. There will be plenty of rhetoric, debates, semantics and threats over the next 6 to 12 months as Laing Homes is well equipped with money, consultants, engineers, lawyers, experts and more money. The facts are simple; the 3,000 acres proposed for development is surrounded on 3 sides by National Conservation land and the 4 1h side is designated nondisposable BLM land. The impact to Red Rock Canyon will be devastating aesthetically and environmentally. Red Rock will no longer be a place to get away from the congestion of the valley; the Laing plan is to model it on that design and scale. In addition, this perfect example of "leap frog" development in Clark County is a costly proposition. It doesn't take a Laing Homes expert to conclude that such development never pays its share of its growth expense. As taxpayers, we will be left holding the bag and it will be ugly. I hope Southern Nevadans will voice their opposition to this development to their elected county and federal officials. Let's define that Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is off limits to development, and in doing so we will define who we are as a community. Sincerely, Michael A. Longi |
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