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BLM AUCTION GUIDELINES: Bill revamps federal land use

Plans address housing, reshape White Pine County holdings

By STEVE TETREAULT, KEITH ROGERS and HENRY BREAN
REVIEW-JOURNAL

WASHINGTON -- Nevada senators have drafted a bill to encourage developers to build affordable homes in the Las Vegas Valley, including at least 5 percent of the units built on large parcels they acquire from the federal government.

The new incentives for builders in Clark County were made part of a sweeping bill that reshapes the government's holdings in White Pine County. Other key parts of the bill make changes in federal law to direct how millions of dollars are spent for Southern Nevada conservation.

The bill, introduced late Tuesday by Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Harry Reid, D-Nev., is patterned after successful land management bills that Congress approved in recent years for Clark County and Lincoln County.

The broad measure would declare 13 new wilderness areas in White Pine County, while expanding two other protected areas set aside in 1989. It would shield certain lands adjacent to Great Basin National Park from most uses, add property to two state parks, convey 1,500 acres for expansion of the Ely airport, and enlarge the county's industrial park.

At the same time, the measure would make up to 45,000 acres in White Pine County available for controlled development through auction by the Bureau of Land Management. It also would remove 68,000 acres from wilderness study and make it available for multiple uses.

Profits from the land auctions would be divided, with 5 percent going to the Nevada education fund, 10 percent for White Pine law enforcement, fire protection and transportation planning, and 85 percent for further wilderness protection in the county.

"There were several things we wanted to do to help White Pine County with economic opportunity and economic development as well as protecting their natural resources," Ensign said Wednesday.

"We have worked hard to ensure that this bill gives the people of White Pine County a greater voice in local growth, recreation and conservation issues," Reid said in a statement.

While it focuses on Eastern Nevada, Ensign said the measure contains much that is significant for Clark County.

Chiefly, it expands how profits can be spent from auctions of excess BLM land. The sales have brought in $2.7 billion since 1998, when the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act was made law.

Millions of dollars have been spent to expand county parks and recreation. Additionally, the new bill would expand the Southern Nevada Water Authority's popular "cash for grass" water conservation program that pays participants $1 for every square foot of grass they replace with desert landscaping. It would offer similar rebates for turf removal at schools and other public buildings.

Water Authority General Manager Pat Mulroy said such landscape conversions would save water and send an important message to the community.

"We can't ask private individuals to do their part if government isn't willing to do its part," Mulroy said.

Since its inception in 1999, the water authority has paid out almost $62 million in rebates for turf replacement at residences and businesses. The program is credited with eliminating some 74 million square feet of grass and saving more than 4 billion gallons of water a year, enough to fill 101 million bathtubs.

Mulroy said large areas of decorative grass still are soaking up water at residential developments and business parks throughout the Las Vegas Valley. "But obviously the kind of turf that is found in front of schools is a significant chunk, and it has to be addressed," she said.

Land sale money also would be made available for state parks in Clark County and for the BLM to clear off impromptu "dump sites" on federal land so it can be prepared for sale. Fire prevention planning for the Spring Mountains and at Lake Tahoe also would be eligible for money, as would Southern Nevada governments cooperating to build a $751 million wastewater plant and pipeline system.

The project by the Clean Water Coalition would pipe the Las Vegas Valley's treated effluent into Lake Mead and release it 250 feet below the surface and more than three miles from shore. Currently, the valley's wastewater pours into the Las Vegas Wash and flows downstream into Lake Mead. As the region continues to grow, however, its sewage output threatens to overwhelm the wash.

Money from public land sales are unlikely to cover the entire cost of the project, but it would offset how much must be raised through local sewer connection charges and user fees, said Douglas Karafa, program administrator for the Clean Water Coalition.

The coalition hopes to begin construction in 2008 and complete the project by 2012.

"These are things I have wanted to do for a few years," said Ensign who co-authored the 1998 law with then-Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev. "The biggest help is going to be in Clark County."

Gov. Kenny Guinn said he was hoping for quick passage, because the bill would free up federal land for wilderness designation in White Pine County, expand state parks and allow more working families to be eligible for decent housing in Clark County.

The Senate is expected to hold a hearing on the bill in September. Ensign said the bill could pass later this year if Congress holds a postelection lame duck session.

Clark County officials praised the bill for blazing a trail that will lead to affordable housing for teachers, emergency personnel and other "work force" residents who are at risk of being priced out of the valley.

The bill allows the BLM to sell excess land at below-market prices to developers who promise to build affordable housing for people who earn up to 120 percent of median income, which county officials said calculates to $68,480.

Current law says developers who want a price break must build units that are affordable to families earning 80 percent of median income, or $46,560. Ensign and others said Wednesday that has not worked.

Douglas Bell, manager of Clark County's community resources, said the amended provision was "a new precedent-setting action," because housing costs in general are increasing faster than workers' incomes.

A second provision would require at least 5 percent of housing units be devoted to affordable housing, if the sale involves more than 200 acres.

"Certainly the thrust here is to include affordability in BLM land sales," Bell said. "What that does is send a very clear message that mixed income is the way we're supposed to go, instead of concentrating poor people in a particular area," Bell said.

Southern Nevada Home Builders Association spokeswoman Monica Caruso said the association has always been an advocate of affordable housing, but she wouldn't comment on the specifics of the bill until association officials have read it.

"In general, we have been at the table with the BLM about the affordability issue," she said.

Ensign said he expected a mixed reaction from builders.

"I am certain that builders don't like to be told what to do, but we also hear from the builders that even their own employees can't find housing," Ensign said.

White Pine County land uses were being negotiated as far back as five years ago, according to participants in the discussions. Ranchers, land managers, conservationists, tribal members and elected officials contributed, Reid said.

Environmental advocates applauded the bill, which designates 545,000 acres for wilderness status. They were particularly satisfied that 122,123 acres of the Schell Creek Range east of Ely was to be protected as well as 70,000 acres of the Highland Ridge south of Great Basin National Park.

But they were disappointed that several key areas were not included, such as portions of the South Egan Range and the Blue Mass Mountains and Kern Mountains, near the Utah border about 85 miles northeast of Ely.

"This definitely is a great step forward for wilderness protection in Eastern Nevada," said John Wallin, director of the Nevada Wilderness Project. "A lot of really important areas are getting the protection they deserve. But we have some concern about areas left out or not adequately protected."