Desert Hills area plan approved

TODAY’S NEWS-HERALD

KINGMAN — After nearly three years of homework, the Desert Hills Fire District area plan became a reality Monday after county supervisors approved a major amendment to the county’s general plan. The amendment revamps the fire district’s plan.

In a story on page 3A of Sunday’s edition of Today’s News-Herald the nature of the amendment was reported in error. The amendment approved Monday addressed the existing Desert Hills area plan.

“We are just asking to be included and have some say so in what happens here,” Dee Moscou, of Desert Hills Fire District Community Association, told Today’s News-Herald Sunday.

The general plan for the Desert Hills area was last revised in March 1980, and was previously known as the Havasu Area Plan. The underlying county general plan land use designations were last updated in 1995, according to official county documents.

The new Desert Hill Fire District Area Plan covers 72 square miles. Moscou said Sunday she was unsure of the area the previous plan harbored before the change since it was old and did not give exact square mileage.

The revised plan is bounded on the north by the railroad north of the intersection of Interstate 40 and State Route 95, on the west by the Havasu National Wild Life Refuge, on the south by Lake Havasu City limits and on the east by federal Bureau of Land Management, according to official county documents.

During the meeting, Supervisor Buster D. Johnson, R-Dist. 3, stated he had concerns including the section of land north of I 40 in the plan. Johnson explained he did not want to end up fighting over the section at a later time if it came up under consideration for future industrial use.

“We want to set up the plan to be informed of any changes. We are not there to tell anyone what to do with their land,” Moscou said during the discussion.

Chris Ballard, of Mohave County Development Services, said the section of land in question had no land use designation in the proposal.

The area consists of 10 existing housing subdivisions, five proposed subdivisions and two business or industrial areas. Four water services are linked to the area. Five of the subdivisions include private roads, the rest are dedicated to Mohave County, according to earlier reports.

The reorganization is composed of 66 percent BLM land, 20 percent state trust land and 18 percent private lands, according to county documents.

The plan will serve as a guide in the development of the Desert Hills Fire District area over the next 10 to 15 years, as stated in the documents.

You may contact the reporter at jhanson@havasunews.com.