Residents urge Sparks council to reject plan to fill Red Hawk lakes for housing

Dozens of Wingfield Springs residents urged the Sparks City Council on April 13 to reject a proposed amendment that would close the Red Hawk Lakes golf course and allow hundreds of homes to be built on that land.

"Along with many of my neighbors and community members, I am very concerned about the proposal to tear down the lakes course in order to build over 700 single and multifamily homes on those grounds," said Louisa Scoville, a Wingfield Springs homeowner. She said the course is a central open‑space amenity and warned that the development would strain infrastructure and reduce quality of life.

Robert Davenport, representing the Wingfield Springs Preservation Group, framed his objection in statutory terms, citing Nevada Revised Statutes and saying the handbook amendment "fails every one of those tests." Davenport told the council the change would impair homeowners' reasonable reliance on the master plan and harm wildlife habitat and wetlands.

Other residents pressed similar themes. Ross Armstrong raised concerns about traffic, air quality and wetlands, saying the developer had not provided a firm plan for water and sewer and asking the council to insist on one before consideration. Danny Jensen urged the city to investigate the developer’s past projects and claimed the developer had given inconsistent answers at a planning commission meeting about founders’ agreements and lot premiums.

Council members did not take a final vote on the Red Hawk handbook amendment during the April 13 meeting. Several speakers asked the city to ensure binding commitments to open space, to confirm water and sewer plans, and to verify developer commitments to existing private‑club agreements.

The matter remains pending; residents asked the council to deny the handbook amendment and to protect the master plan that governs the Wingfield Springs community.