October 4, 2007
County Ordinance for Developments at Toquop Accepted

Photo by Dave Maxwell Dennis Rider, BLT Acquisition Group speaking about the Toquop development project.

By Dave Maxwell

Commissioners passed an ordinance last Monday for a Conceptual Development Plan known as the Eagle Falls Planned Community on land located in the Lincoln County Land Act (Toquop) owned by BLT Acquisition Group. The proposal is for a planned community in Parcels I & J of the land sale, including up to 10,032 dwelling units, 2 casinos, hotels, golf courses, commercial uses and related infrastructure. The purpose of the ordinance is to determine compliance with the requirements of Title 14 of the Lincoln County Code and Lincoln County Master Plan of 2007.

County Planning Director Clint Wertz made the presentation of the ordinance. He stated that three public meetings have been conducted regarding the ordinance in February, July and August of this year. Following the last of these meetings, Wertz recommended a set of conditions to add to the ordinance.

Dennis Rider, co-chairman of BLT Acquisition was in attendance and said his group was ready to accept the conditions of the ordinance in order to allow them to get working at Toquop. However, attorney Robert Gronauer, from Las Vegas, representing Olympia Group, another adjacent developer, had a couple of other conditions Olympia wanted put into the ordinance, which were later approved.

Olympia wanted the ordinance to contain language that made it clear that any subsequent developers have to submit a development agreement in line with the County’s development plan in order to be accepted. Secondly, Olympia wanted to make sure that any future applicants would be required to also pay their fare share of the cost of building schools, parks, open space trails, public facilities and services.

The ordinance also states that developers, both current and future, will have up to six months to submit their development plan.

Wertz said the most important item in the recommended conditions in the ordinance is that all developers will have to follow the standard laid out from the County’s study of the roads and drainage in the Toquop area.