Bullhead City Council Work Session on Laughlin Ranch–Fox Creek General Plan Amendment – May 5, 2026
Bullhead City Council Work Session on Laughlin Ranch–Fox Creek General Plan Amendment – May 5, 2026
On Tuesday, May 5, 2026, the Bullhead City Council held a discussion-only work session to review a proposed major general plan amendment for approximately 11,934 acres east of Bullhead Parkway, including the Laughlin Ranch master-planned area and land south toward Fox Creek. The development team presented a preliminary concept for roughly 4,400 acres that would reduce heavy residential uses, add a light-industrial employment district, create a mixed-use downtown, and preserve more open space. No formal action, application, or vote occurred.
Discussion Items
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Proposal overview: Shelby, presenting with Diversified Future, described the existing general plan, originally amended in 2005, as very residential-heavy with limited housing absorption over 20 years. The proposal would reduce residential area by 1,503 acres (about 25,832 people), eliminate a second planned golf course, and create a 2,614-acre employment/light-industrial district. It would also create a "second downtown" near Laughlin Ranch with shopping, dining, entertainment, a grocer, and walkable mixed-use residential, while enhancing existing trails and keeping washes and open space in a natural state.
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Projected benefits: The team estimated more than 100,000 fewer daily vehicle trips (later clarified as 128,000 fewer trips compared with the prior general plan), a reduction of over 493 million gallons of water per year, and lower sewer demand. They projected about 10,000 direct jobs and $10–20 million per year in tax revenue from employment uses, with a more detailed breakdown to be provided later. Potential industrial users mentioned included aerospace/defense electronics, AI hardware/edge computing, advanced manufacturing, semiconductor packaging/testing, and medical device/biotech manufacturing, some of which may use closed-loop water systems.
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Open space and public facilities: The plan proposed 3,597 acres of open space and trail preservation, about 58 acres per 1,000 residents, compared with the city requirement of 6.25–10 acres per 1,000 residents. It also proposed five public school sites, a fire/police station, parks, and a shooting range. Shelby confirmed that commercial areas and trail systems would remain open to the public and would not be gated.
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Council questions and positions: Council members asked about the 2005 project history, school needs, gated access, public trail access, traffic studies, and truck impacts on roads. One council member expressed overall support, noting that a shooting range near Silver Creek and a closer grocery store would be welcome. The vice mayor asked whether a traffic study had been completed; the team said no, but a traffic engineer had provided input and a full six-week study would be done before the next meeting. Several council members praised the natural open space, commercial balance, water reduction, and potential tax revenue.
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Resident notification and materials: The mayor asked whether Laughlin Ranch residents had been informed; the team replied that this was only a workshop and no official application had been made. The mayor requested resident feedback and an updated copy of the slideshow; the city already had the presentation.
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Process and timeline: City staff noted the city is currently updating its general plan. If the developer files a formal application, the Planning and Zoning Commission would review it in August/September and the City Council could consider it in October. A general plan amendment would not change underlying zoning; a future PAD/rezoning request would be needed. Staff discussed a "dual track" option: the proposed land use could be incorporated into the 10-year general plan update for the November ballot, which would require a P&Z public hearing by June 4 and City Council approval by June 16. The developer was advised to continue the formal amendment process in case voters do not approve the general plan; if not approved, the prior plan would remain in effect. Staff also referenced a governor's office press release on lower basin Colorado River water cuts and positive discussions with the Bureau of Reclamation regarding water assets.
Key Outcomes
- No formal action or vote was taken at the work session.
- The development team will complete a traffic study before the next meeting and provide a detailed $10–20 million tax-revenue breakdown.
- Council expressed general support for the concept but asked for resident notification and input before an official application.
- The City Council will need to decide whether to include the proposed land use in the general plan update for the November ballot or let it go through the standard amendment process.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. Today is Tuesday, May 5th, 2026. Welcome. We are here for the Bullhead City Council work session. Thank you. Appreciate everyone being here. As uh the man mentioned, we're here today to discuss the walk session uh discussion regarding the general plan amendment to areas east of the Bullhead Parkway and encompassing Laughlin Ranch and South to Fox Creek development. I'd like to bring on Billy and uh Johnny from the development levelships group to lead us through this discussion. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Kajirwa. Mayor and Council. So just I'm gonna give a brief intro and then and then I'll introduce Shelby who will be doing the presentation. So just to get some context on this potential project, uh this would be a potentially a major general plan amendment for the Laughlin Ranch master plans area. So I think when we think about Laughlin Ranch, we think about the developed areas, we think about the golf course, the clubhouse, those communities, North Fork North Fork at Laughlin Ranch. The master plan for Laughlin Ranch actually included like thousands of acres all the way to the eastern boundary of the city and then towards the south, almost all the way to Fox Creek. So it's those areas south of Laughlin Ranch proper or Laughlin Ranch Boulevard, and then down towards Fox Creek that we're talking about. Shelby has a presentation that she'll share with you. And with that being said, Shelby with the diversified future. So let me get started. This is the eleven thousand nine hundred and thirty-four acres. Um, just to get you um some bearings here towards the north, you can actually see um the Laughlin ranch. Um the existing country club and golf course. We are looking at the lower 4,400 acres. So we would be leaving most of the site alone, but taking about which is a big chunk, 4,400 acres and redistributing based on what's happened over the last 20 years. The original plan was approved a little over 20 years ago, and as you can see, is very heavy and residential uses. That's the yellow, light pink, darker pink, and brown. With that said, there has been a lack of absorption of the housing, and we believe that to be because of the current market condition, needing more jobs and higher paying jobs to be able to support and sustain the need there. So what we would like to do is look at those challenges. The 20 years of limited residential absorption and shifting more towards employment uses for that portion, still maintaining a significant portion of commercial and residential, but then also incorporating more jobs. The potential of adding those jobs would allow us to then distribute into other areas where we would end up creating a mixed use downtown. That downtown would allow for second downtown environment similar to your downtown here, but closer over to the Laughlin Ranch area. You'd have shopping, dining, entertainment, all integrated with a true mixed use in that section of residential with walkability. The demand we foresee would include a grocer. It would end up having higher job pay, which would then allow us to bring in some higher end users in those for the grocer and for other retail uses. So you would end up with that true mixed downtown feel. We would like to introduce some mixed use, like I said, some commercial and residential so that you can have the walkability in that downtown area. We would also be looking to improve a lot of the live workplay lifestyle trend in that area, and that would be then supported by all of the employment use that we would be creating in the plan. What we would be proposing is a reduction of the residential area of 1,503 acres by reducing 1,500 acres in that homes or even single family development. That would be approximately a reduction of 25,832 people. By doing that and increasing the entertainment and we'd also be eliminating a second golf course, the Laughlin Ranch golf course that is there today, is highly used, but not needing a second golf course. By doing that mixture of reducing our residential and eliminating one of the golf courses, we can then focus on enhancing the existing trail system as well as some other recreational opportunities that we'll go over here in just a little bit. But we would be enhancing the existing trail system as well as maintaining the open washes and the open space that's already there, keeping it in its natural state instead of creating a golf course, and then adding the light industrial area that would create 2,614 acres of an employment district use. That employment district use would then allow us to by eliminating the golf course and creating the reduction in residential use, it decreases the amount of water as you can imagine, that consumption significantly. Something that we're very concentrated on because of everything that's happening with the Colorado River and other things that we're all facing in the desert. Think that this would be not only a much better balanced use in the neighborhood in this area by creating the economic stimulation of the jobs, but also helping with that water usage. This is a map of the 4,400 acres that we would be presenting and wanting to come forward with. As you can see, it's a heavy use still of light industrial, commercial, and residential. Mixed in with the blue. The blue is the areas that we would still be providing and donating land for public schools.
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