Residents want no-fly zone at McCool Park

Neighbors voice concerns about events, noise, disruptions

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Presenting an issue in a North Las Vegas City Council special session has the ring of being brought to the principal's office. In this case, it was Willie McCool Regional Park's airfield, 4400 Horse Drive, that was in trouble as City Council called a special 4:30 p.m. session on April 16 to discuss issues brought up by residents.

The second item on the agenda included possible amendments to the city's liquor codes.

Director of Parks and Recreation Mike Henley told the council that the airfield for remote-controlled planes received its first noise complaint in 2006. In the past year, there have been three complaints waged by two North Las Vegas residents who found that the weekend special events, some of which involved overnight RV parking, were disruptive.

In the past, the city has responded to complaints by restricting the hours of the airfield to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and by reiterating policies and procedures that are already in place with the field's two resident clubs -- the Las Vegas Prop Nuts and the Rebel Club Squadron.

The city also has instituted policies and procedures for events, including overnight camping, and monitored the airfield to curtail after-hours use.

Henley presented a series options for alleviating complaints.

Among the options were to continue with past mitigating procedures, eliminate airfield special events, hire staff or enforce noise standards, close on Sundays, relocate the runway on park premises, relocate the airfield in its entirety or close it.

"You know this park has been there since 1986," Mayor Michael Montandon said of the airfield that in 2004 was dedicated to space shuttle Columbia Pilot Willie McCool.

"I remember very distinctly you had to drive up Jones (Boulevard), come across Thom (Boulevard) and go up Horse (Drive) to turn in," Montandon said. "There was no other way to get up there. As you may or may not know, the land is on a long-term lease from the (Bureau of Land Management) under what's called a recreational and public purpose lease. The purpose of that land, the reason we're allowed to have it, is for that use. There is a specific use for the Willie McCool Regional Park. I have no interest whatsoever in denying that use."

Councilwoman Shari Buck said that having a soccer park next to your house is different from having remote-controlled planes fly overhead.

"I have received phone calls from the residents who live there who are to the breaking point from hearing this sound all the time," she said.

Clark County Shooting Park or Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs were among the options for relocating the park.

"If we do have a relocation, take into consideration that we do need a park on this side of town," said Brian Ward, a radio-control airplane hobbyist. "And please don't close the park until our new park is ready to fly for us."

Proponents for the airfield pointed to the success of tournaments held at the William Bennett Radio Controlled Airfield, located near Sam Boyd Stadium at 6800 E. Russell Road, that generate revenue for the city and have gained recognition.

Fliers out of Willie McCool have that same sense of pride, Ward said.

"We're really trying to build this field to be one of the premier fields in the country because we're so proud of it," he said.

Buck and Councilwoman Stephanie Smith urged the staff to find a solution quickly enough to provide residents with some relief.

Paul Smitts of the Las Vegas Prop Nuts invited the City Council and interested residents to come down to the airfield.

Smitts said that on the last Saturday of every month from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the airfield hosts an open house where first-timers can try the sport.

"This is a safe sport. It gets kids interested in engineering and science. Capt. Willie McCool was a RC model flyer," Smitts said.

City Manager Gregory Rose and city staff agreed to present a solution in 30 days.

LIQUOR LICENSE WOES

Amendments to Title 17 of the liquor laws come down to convenience for North Las Vegas developers growing projects larger than 200,000 square feet, as well as for North Las Vegas residents who would like to see such large commercial developments centered by restaurants and supper clubs flourish.

The first 17 amendments of the liquor code, which define the scope and size of development to be affected by the revisions, were approved. Large commercial centers on the horizon that would fall under this revised definition would include four major projects in the works.

Smith was concerned with giving a large commercial development blanket use of a liquor permit.

The city staff would not bring forward applications for approval of commercial developments as planned use or multiple use developments without having established that the development met the definition.

"What enforcement right would we have for developers not living up to their conditions?" Montandon asked, reflecting the concerns of many on the council who had recently seen homeowners enraged by promises that they said were made by a developer that were later abandoned.

The staff concluded it would be a code enforcement issue, under which cases a business license can be revoked or denied.

"There should be some sort of review process, some process where the council has a right to go in," Buck said.

The developers would like to hold on to some of the benefits from the old ordinances, particularly when it comes to the old ratio of one tavern in a commercial development to two restaurants or two supper clubs, combined with the benefits of the new ordinances.

The new ordinances alleviate issues of proximity.

"That's where all those issues arise," said attorney Jeff Silver, representing Athena Group, the developer of the Desert Star Mall, which will be located on the southeast corner of Craig Road and North 5th Street.

Attorney Jennifer Lazovich, representing the Binion project, to be located at the southwest corner of the Las Vegas Beltway and Losee Road, said: "I think we're all on the same page. But specifically for the Binion site, this is where the problems came in. We got a PUD approved. And as a part of that PUD approval, we got eight taverns for that very large site. However, under Title 5, there were provisions that existed in Title 5 that did not match up with what council gave us under Title 17. We're not trying to pick and choose, we just want to make sure we'd get the provisions for which we were approved."

"The reality is that we have to buy the land," Silver said. "And if we have to build up to 200,000 square feet in order to get certain entitlements, that means with the cost of construction, that ($300 to $400) per square feet for commercial, we may spend $60 (million) to 80 million dollars. So, yes, at a certain point and time, the city should recognize that person who has an investment of $100 million on land and improvements needs to get the cake and eat it, too."

The city staff was directed to go back to drawing board and to revisit the ordinances, casting the language to consider the four major developments.

Such language would include the concerns broached by Montandon, Smith and Buck that City Council is able to retain powers of review.

"You see, now I want my cake and eat it, too," Montandon said. "I want some way that Joe Smith, when he's buying his home near a PUD, to know what they're going to get. On-sale or whatever they're going to be. And not be surprised. And council, also."