Church hopes to build in Anthem

Proposal includes school, ballfields and amphitheater

Calvary Chapel Green Valley Church wants to build a church, school and day care center on Volunteer Boulevard across the street from Inspirada and near Sun City Anthem's Sebring Hills Drive.

The Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comment by Nov. 19, on this proposal to lease approximately 20 acres.

The land is in the pre-processing stage and will be reviewed first by the local BLM and then by the state BLM.

Congress mandated that 74,000 acres in the Las Vegas valley could be disposed of to parks, places of worship, nonprofit organizations, schools and community service buildings such as fire and police stations, said Kirsten Cannon, a BLM representative.

"People can ask for any of those lands," Cannon said.

There are 35,500 acres available for use by the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, which the church is applying under.

The land, which is within a detention basin, abuts the west wall of Westridge Village in Sun City Anthem.

Inspirada, the new master-planned community, has a minimum 75-foot buffer from Sun City Anthem. Some Sun City residents have expressed concerns about whether there will be a buffer from the church project, among other concerns.

"I don't have concern with the church going up," said Rich Pendleton, a Sun City Anthem Westridge Village resident. "I have concern with the traffic in that area that is impacted."

The only roads that go in and out of Sun City Anthem are Eastern Avenue and Volunteer Boulevard, which is one lane going each way near the Henderson Executive Airport. Inspirada also recently opened its first housing development, which uses the street.

"I am not as adamant as some of the residents, but it sounds like they'll have some heavy use besides a church," said David Berman, a Sun City Anthem resident.

Pendleton said information in a letter he received from the church states that the plan includes a football field and two baseball fields but it is unclear if they will be lighted. An amphitheater also is proposed.

If the application is approved by the BLM, the church still would have to present traffic and drainage studies, site design and complete standard applications with the Henderson Planning Commission, said Cindy Herman, a spokeswoman for the city.

The land is zoned for public/semipublic use, which could be a park, place of worship or school, so a zone change is not necessary.

Although the land is in a detention basin, the Regional Flood Control District has made its own review and didn't see any issues outside of the spillway, Herman said.

Calvary Chapel Green Valley Church did not return calls to comment.