There are some exciting new ideas that will be presented to the City Council at next week’s meeting on April 26th, that we wanted to draw your attention to.
Agenda item #15 seems simple enough listed only as ‘Consideration of proposed changes to the 2022 Land Management Process List’, but there is actually quite a bit going on here that we thought folks might wish to know about. (View the entire Agenda Packet here.) There are three parts to it: 1. Elite RV Resorts of Boulder City, creating a new travel destination in town, 2. A possible sale of land to be used for a potential grocery store/retail location, and 3. A proposal to utilize 7 acres of land north of the corral to be leased to the Boulder City Horseman’s association. For this article we’re going to focus on the first two items of keen interest to us.
Luxury RV Resort
Meet Gary G. Baldwin, Managing Partner for a proposed high-end RV resort called Elite Resorts at Boulder City. This consists of two areas of land along Veterans Memorial Drive. Area 1 from the map above is 52.5 acres. Area 2 is 21.8 acres, located at the ‘T’ where Adams Blvd. ends at Veterans Memorial Drive, tucked into this parcel of land that contains a part of the Boulder Creek greens. Both proposals are to lease the land, becoming a revenue source for the City.
You’ll see from the power point presentation HERE that what is prosed is a super-sweet swanky high-end RV park and cabin rental destination that includes a club house, pool, tourist welcome center and other amenities. It makes a great landing spot for visitors looking to explore our area and the owner has a lot of thoughtful ideas built into the proposal to help bring those visitors into the heart of Boulder City. Also addressed are the utilities, water usage rates and maintaining of our beautiful desert scenery in the area.
We spoke to Jill Lagan the CEO of the Boulder City Chamber, and she tells us, “When responsible additions to the business core are up for discussion, it is always exciting. This potential project could be a true asset to Boulder City in many ways, with tourism, with tax revenue, and with added quality of life for the residents welcoming guests to visit them as well as enjoying the amenities themselves.”
The fact that someone with this sort of vision is interested in placing a business such as this in our loved Boulder City is in and of itself, good news. Now we will see what the people at large and the Council will think of this proposed project.
Proposed Sale of Land – Grocery Store Site
There has already been a lot of talk about this possible project in town, with no shortage of buzz and opinions on social media. In case you haven’t seen the proposed location, we’ve got a slice of the map for you here below.
This is 16.3 acres you’ll see with an entrance on Boulder City Pkwy, and the majority of the retail center itself to be placed on the current vacant land off of Veterans Memorial Dr. next to the Gingerwood mobile home park.
As of this time the current plan is to make the possible sale of this land for this purpose into a ballot question that we would vote on during General Election in November. Although depending upon what the Council thinks and the feedback from the public this coming Tuesday, any of this could change.
The intent of the proposal sounds simple – one of the most consistent laments from BC residents is the lack of choice having only one local grocery store. This is an attempt to try to solve that by at least creating a clear space for a potential retailer or developer to move into. However there has been concern expressed by some that if we agree to sell the land we lose the potential for ongoing lease revenue and also lock us into its usage. If we understand this correctly, if the voters approve of the land sale for that purpose and no retailer/grocer buys it, then we are still locked into that scenario unless we then vote on a future ballot question to amend that decision. Also of concern is of course who of the possible grocery retailers we could attract in our current population. Everyone wants a Sprouts, Trader Joes or a Smiths. But what if a Walmart came to town – how do we feel about that retailer as compared to others? Could that be built into the ballot question itself? These matters we are certain will all be discussed.
Land Management Process
The LMP or Land Management Process is very specific in how the City makes these types of decisions. Frankly for myself, trying to understand all this code makes me want a nap. However, it’s essential that the processes are thoughtfully worked through and all are given their due diligence in what the best decisions are for our City and quality of life.
“This is an opportunity for the public to provide initial input on how to utilize City-owned land,” said Taylour Tedder, City Manager. “The Council will be providing further direction to staff on Tuesday night.” Remember, this is ONLY the first of many steps in the process on all of these various projects – but we thought it was a good idea to share them with you now so that folks can see the possibilities and the risks, and evaluate and provide feedback this coming Tuesday.
