NLV council snubs planners with OK of apartments near airport

Adrienne Packer

Thursday, April 16, 1998 | 10:02 a.m.

NORTH LAS VEGAS -- After a lengthy debate about the hazards of living next to an airport, City Council members Wednesday tentatively approved an apartment complex on Lake Mead Boulevard and Simmons Street.

The council agreed 4-1 to overturn the Planning Commission's February ruling and changed the zoning of the 18-acre parcel from commercial to high-density housing.

"Why is it that whenever we talk of development there it's high-density?" asked North Las Vegas resident Tom Langford, one of the few people who protested the project. "It seems like you put more people in some potential jeopardy."

The 208-unit apartment complex, which will be managed by Terra West Development, is in the flight path of the North Las Vegas Air Terminal and adjacent to a retirement home.

Councilman William Robinson, who cast the sole dissenting vote, expressed concerns about the noise level and feared putting apartments next to a retirement home would only invite trouble.

"I would hate to see a complex where some guy can snag a purse and jump over a fence to be at home," Robinson said.

The Planning Commission denied the developer's request for a zone change because members felt residents living in the flight path would be in danger, the noise would be excessive and there were not enough amenities offered.

The council placed several additional conditions on Terra West, including providing basketball courts, placing a wrought-iron fence between the apartments and retirement center and hiring a 24-hour security service.

A handful of the proposed apartments' neighbors attended Wednesday's meeting to support the project.

Armed with a petition signed by about 40 residents, neighbors said they would rather have an apartment complex than more stores in the area. A shopping center would convert Lake Mead into a racetrack, they argued.

"We just got a new school down the road and we want a safe place for our children," Norma Anderson said.

The proposal will be brought back to the City Council with the additional conditions included before the developer receives final approval for the project.