The Bureau of Land Management has signed off on Henderson annexing federal land on both sides of Las Vegas Boulevard South, south of St. Rose Parkway. The Henderson City Council will take the first step Tuesday to annex nearly 3,500 acres of unincorporated Clark County.

The county wanted the BLM to preserve, near the Henderson city limits, a half-mile wide utility corridor for the proposed Ivanpah airport between Jean and Primm.

Such a wide corridor would have prevented Henderson from having a presence on the South Strip, except for the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard South and St. Rose Parkway. Some county commissioners have suggested Clark County control both sides of Las Vegas Boulevard South given its experience in overseeing the Strip.

But Juan Palma, Las Vegas field manager for the BLM, said it wasn't necessary to give Clark County the half-mile swath for bringing water, sewer, rail, buses and other utilities to Ivanpah. The county requested only an 800-foot wide corridor south of Sloan Road, and Palma said that size should be sufficient near St. Rose Parkway as well.

"I know a couple of commissioners weren't pleased with what Henderson was trying to do," Palma said. "I didn't want to get into that political stuff. I based my decision on what was within the domain of the BLM. It was clear to me I was directed by Congress to have a corridor down to Ivanpah. That's what's critical, and we have done that."

Federal legislation in 2002 that lead to the sale of 5,800 acres to the county for the airport allowed a utility corridor up to a one-half mile. It called on Henderson and the county to work together on establishing the boundaries and size in consultation with the BLM.

Palma said he hasn't heard from Clark County since he decided the corridor boundaries and doesn't know if the county will appeal.

County Manager Virginia Valentine said there are no plans to appeal the corridor boundaries but doesn't know what position the county will take in terms of Henderson's annexation request.

"I think it made some sense to keep that in Clark County," Valentine said of the area near St. Rose Parkway. "It is in the Enterprise Township, and we have been planning appropriately for that area."

Henderson officials, meanwhile, are pleased.

"It does make sense for the city of Henderson to have a greater say in how the area is planned because it is closer to our services than the county services," said Henderson Councilman Andy Hafen. "It goes back to can we do a better job of planning than the county could do. I am being prejudiced, but we have a better planned community than we see in unincorporated Clark County."

With the BLM's ruling, Henderson not only stands to receive more property taxes and new sources of gaming revenue, it also puts the city in position to encourage private property owners along Las Vegas Boulevard South to annex into Henderson. It also enables the city to add more of the resort corridor if Las Vegas Boulevard South is realigned further to the east as expected.

Despite that win, a bigger battle is yet to come.

At the urging of the BLM, Henderson withdrew a separate annexation request for tens of thousands of acres of federal land near Jean, but Palma said nothing prevents Henderson from resurrecting the issue.

Clark County officials fear Henderson will use any annexation as a steppingstone to extend their boundaries and encroach on the Ivanpah Valley Airport and surrounding development. Some commissioners have questioned why Henderson should be allowed to expand at the expense of the county.

Henderson officials said they understand the importance of the airport and don't want to jeopardize it but that does not mean the city should have its growth impeded. A landlocked Henderson would hinder the city's ability to provide additional jobs and housing, city officials said.

The land is outside the federal disposal boundary and not available for auction until Congress makes it available.

"We will have to have the same conversation all over again," Palma said.

The dispute over the future of southern Clark County started in March 2005 when the county opposed Henderson's bid to annex 3,626 acres because no utility corridor for Ivanpah had been set aside.

The tensions worsened a short time later when county officials accused Henderson of going behind their back when it unsuccessfully pushed for state legislation that would have made it easier for the city to annex the land. Earlier this year, county commissioners and Henderson council members traded barbs through the media about the other being land hogs and who would do a better job managing the next resort corridor.

By law, Henderson can't move to complete the annexation until after the general election in November, said City Manager Phil Speight. He said there is no timetable for putting the land up for auction. The land outside of the Strip is likely to be designated for master planned communities.

The South Strip is shaping up with the opening in December of the South Coast and plans for other hotels farther to the south such as Olympia Gaming's planned Southern Highlands Resort and Anthony Marnell III's planned M Resort.