Seaman and Berkley's Position on Costly Badlands Litigation | Las Vegas | News

Whoever wins on Nov. 5, Las Vegas' next mayor will inherit a years-long legal battle with the would-be developer of the decommissioned Badlands golf course and a potential bill of more than $500 million in taxpayer money.

Councilwoman Victoria Seaman and former U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley have both backed a deal with EHB Cos. and both candidates have vowed to protect taxpayers' pockets as much as possible.

Berkley said Seaman hasn't done enough as a council member to solve the problem. Seaman has countered that Berkley didn't become interested in the issue until she decided to run for mayor.

The mayor only has one vote out of seven on any City Council issue, but both candidates in interviews with the Las Vegas Review-Journal emphasized the leadership skills they said were needed to resolve the dispute.

The cases concern the gated, 250-acre golf course, which EHB – led by CEO Yohan Lowie – bought in 2015 with plans to build a sprawling residential development until it was blocked by the city council after residents of the neighboring community of Queensridge protested against the plan.

Lowie filed several lawsuits claiming the city's action effectively “took away” his property. Several judges agreed and awarded the EHB $285 million for three of four cases.

The City Council resolved one of the cases by paying $64 million to EHB this year, but voted 5-2 to appeal a separate $80 million judgment. Sailor and City Councilwoman Nancy Brune voted against the appeal.

The vote angered Lowie, who told the city council: “If you want to fight the rest in court, we will fight in court – “(even) if we have to go to the Supreme Court of the United States.”

If the city is unsuccessful in the three other cases, including the appeals, City Attorney Jeff Dorocak warned the city could risk losing between $450 million and $650 million in taxpayer dollars.

The city's strategy, he said in September, is to defend Las Vegas in court while trying to reach a settlement.

“This overall risk must be reduced or eliminated as much as possible,” said Dorocak, defending the appeal.

The Review-Journal asked Seaman and Berkley how they would handle the Badlands cases as mayor.

sailor

The Badlands-related decisions that led to the city being sued preceded Seaman's tenure at City Hall.

“Just as I inherited it as a council member, I will inherit it as mayor — or my opponent will,” Seaman said. “As I have advocated since my election, it is time to come together and settle the matter.”

Until recently, Seaman had been the only dissenting voice on the City Council publicly calling for an agreement.

“I can’t force people to take responsibility for us getting into the Badlands,” she said.

As mayor, Seaman said she was a “courageous leader” with the ability to bring people into a room to negotiate.

“I wasn’t mayor, I was a council member; and on Badlands I was the only voice. “I was in these private rooms and I told them we needed to settle down,” she said.

Seaman said she is opposed to the city hiring outside lawyers to handle the litigation when the city has its own attorneys on payroll.

She previously described the prospect of the city taking ownership of the golf course and selling it to cover some of the costs as a “good option.”

Still, she said, “there is no guarantee that this will be a smooth transaction.”

Seaman said she recently pushed for mediation.

She said she suggested to city officials on Tuesday that “we mediate with the developers – with the plaintiffs – and have council members there as well because we need to come together on an agreement as quickly as possible.”

Berkley

Berkley, a Queensridge resident and former congresswoman, said she was not involved on either side of the Badlands controversy and has not spoken to Lowie.

“I have not contacted the district attorney,” Berkley said. “I think it would be inappropriate to do that. There is only one mayor in office at a time.”

She called the litigation “devastating” and “embarrassing” for the city.

“It was a residential area and the planning board had approved it unanimously,” she said, citing a court decision. “The only thing that stopped it – and that stopped it – was political engagement.”

If elected, Berkley said she would first meet with the prosecutor.

“I want to know what’s going on — from the city’s perspective — and then I’m going to sit down with Yohan and have a conversation and see what he’s willing to accept and see if we can put this behind us,” she said.

Berkley acknowledged it won't be an “easy” task.

Berkley said she now knows better and was confident she could convince the council to reach an agreement since members remaining after the election were not present at the initial legal battle.

“My goal is to protect the taxpayers as much as possible and help support the developer so that they accept it,” she said.

If they come to a number, Berkley said she would advocate paying it over “X number of years.”