Between a house and a hard place

Sonya Padgett

Monday, Aug. 2, 1999 | 11:36 a.m.

For Robert and Georgie DeBerry and their neighbors, the choice was a difficult one: support a housing development they didn't want in their quiet neighborhood or protest it and take the chance of ending up with something much worse.

Residents along Truffles Street and Mona Lane in Henderson told the City Council July 6 that they supported a developer's plans to build 63 houses on nine acres between Truffles and College Drive.

But the Henderson Planning Commission and city staff had recommended denial because the lot sizes were smaller -- 4,000 square feet -- than the preferred lot sizes of 4,500 square feet.

The developer, Mark Schnippel of Terra West, also had not met open space requirements for projects of that size, Councilman Steve Kirk said. Only 14,000 square feet of open space was planned, less than half of the preferred 39,000 square feet, Kirk said.

Despite those drawbacks, several of the residents supported the project, mainly out of fear, Robert DeBerry said.

"Although no one ever came right out and said it" people were worried that if they didn't support the residential proposal, something much worse would come along, DeBerry said. "There had been some commercial proposed there before."

With thousands of people moving to Henderson every month, many homeowners fear that vacant land surrounding their streets will begin sporting strip malls with grocery and all-night convenience stores, DeBerry said.

That's why many residents felt that the only way to prevent a shopping center from coming into their neighborhood was to support a residential development, he said.

It's precisely those ideas that concern Kirk. He's worried that residents may start backing developments that aren't necessarily good for them or the city out of fear of the unknown.

"The residents didn't know what they would get in the future, so they supported the (housing development)," Kirk said.

If developers realize that residents are afraid of some kinds of projects coming to their neighborhoods, Kirk said, they could use that information to garner citizen support for a less-than-perfect plan.

"I don't think there's any way around it. (That's why) we're really going to have to take the temperature of the residents and how it affects them," Kirk said.

Developer Schnippel makes no secret of the fact that he thinks the DeBerrys and other residents of Truffles Street and Mona Lane are best served by any residential development.

"Residential houses, whether they're on 30- or 40- or 60-foot (by 100 foot) lots is probably the best-case scenario I would think," Schnippel said. "They don't have to worry about someone else coming in and applying for multi-family or something commercial. They think it's better to take this now than to fight the battle and end up with something they don't want."

One of the DeBerrys' neighbors, Jim Werle, objects to Terra West's plans. While he wants residential development, he thinks Schnippel's project is too dense for the area.

"Everybody here knows something's going to be built on this vacant lot, so it might as well be residential. But this is out of hand," Werle said. "There's no precedent for a development like this, at least not in Henderson."

Similar projects have been approved in Henderson, though it's not preferred, Director of Community Development Mary Kay Peck said.

Many homeowners don't understand why zoning is changed for projects like Terra West, Mona Lane resident Jim Purtill said.

"When I moved here in 1976 it was comfortable to know all this was zoned residential. We've (the city as a whole) done our job for Henderson in providing high-density living. Why couldn't they have left that what it was originally zoned -- R-1? (one house per acre)" asked Purtill. "It's like no one is listening."

Someone is listening, Peck said, but residents have to realize that managing growth and development is a delicate balancing act.

"We work very hard to protect the quality of life. There's always a balancing act between private property rights and the public interest," Peck said.

Rezoning occurs, Peck explained, because the city's master land-use plan is dynamic.

"It's not set in stone and can change anytime. Any property owner has the right to ask for a zoning change," Peck said. "If (residents) live near vacant property there's always a chance (zoning) could change. If you live on major cross streets, you're going to see more intense development."

While this is true, Kirk said, it's important for city officials to help the public understand growth issues to prevent exploitation.

"We need to be aware and we need to be vigilant and residents need to be too," Kirk said. "They need to make sure they're aware of the zoning around them, then fight and work with the City Council and staff to preserve the kind of lifestyle they want."