Homeowners say condo project way too close

Sonya Padgett

Monday, July 26, 1999 | 11:13 a.m.

Some homeowners in Henderson have learned that a promise made isn't necessarily a promise kept, especially when it comes to development.

Now residents on Long Branch and Galleria drives in Whitney Ranch are fuming that condominiums are being built 20 feet behind their houses instead of 60 feet, as developer J.M. Gair and Associates promised two years ago.

Gair told homeowners he would build his condos 60 feet from existing back yards after many complained that the standard 20-foot setback would put the new condos too close, invading their privacy and lowering their property values, homeowners association President Rana Goodman said.

"We had two meetings with the developers, and both times they agreed to a 60-foot setback," Goodman said. "Then they go ask the Planning Commission for a 20-foot setback."

The residents are angry that the agreement was broken, and they don't understand how it was approved by both the Planning Commission and the City Council without their knowledge.

It was approved, planner Shannon Casey said, because there were no objections to the project at the meetings.

The site plan was originally approved for a 60-foot setback, Casey said, but when Gair revamped the plans, the process started all over again.

"The applicant made drastic changes, and we made him go back" and get the new plans approved, Casey said.

But Goodman thinks the developer should have kept his promise even if the plans were redone.

"It's just a scary thought when someone gives you their word and you have to keep checking on it to make sure they keep it," Goodman said.

In early 1997 Gair approached homeowners in the neighborhood to discuss his planned development, the Galleria Villas, Goodman said.

"At the first meeting, we told them our concerns, and they said they agreed with us, that 20 feet was too close," Goodman said. "Then they talked about putting in landscaping buffers and shrubbery, so that the property would look attractive."

Gair had a second meeting with residents, to show that the site plans included a 60-foot setback from the existing houses, Goodman said.

"At the second meeting he said the same thing, that he understood 20 feet wasn't enough," Goodman said.

Residents took Gair at his word and believed the issue was settled.

That's why many were surprised when they walked outside one morning to find that construction had started on the condos only 20 feet away, Goodman said.

Goodman appealed to the Henderson City Council July 6 to see if they could hold Gair to his original promise.

Nothing can be done at this point, Director of Community Development Mary Kay Peck said, because the plans went through all proper channels.

The association would be in a better position if a city planner had been present at the meetings between Gair and residents, Peck said.

"We always ask people to do that because it really helps all of us. If a developer makes promises or a homeowner's association makes compromises" the planner will know what was agreed to, Peck said.

Gair says yes, he originally promised a 60-foot setback, but that was when he was planning two-story condominiums throughout the complex.

The plans were changed to put single-story condos on the perimeter of the project, Gair said, and the setback reverted to the standard 20 feet.

Gair can't believe that people are complaining now about the setback because the site plan was approved a year ago.

"They act as if they were never notified, but I hand-delivered notices to their front doors," Gair said. "I think they need to pay attention to notices posted and mailed to them. This is a year later.

"We're not doing a bait and switch or pulling the wool over anyone's eyes," Gair said. "We went through every legal process required by the city. Everything was approved per procedure and now there's a small handful of people who think they're going to stop me from building."

Whitney Ranch residents say they were purposely left out of any decision process. Goodman says homeowners didn't receive notices about the changes, and no one knew that they needed to reiterate their concerns about the 20-foot setback and their property values.

Gair says the homes on Long Branch won't lose any value from the proximity of the condos. As a matter of fact, he said, the condos will add value to homes in the subdivision.

Whitney Ranch Homeowner's Association treasurer Jack Liptak disagreed.

"I have never in my life bought a house with anything behind me; I hate that. I think it will devalue the property."

Residents are resigning themselves to the possibility that nothing can be done in their case but hope that it can help educate others, Goodman said.

"If nothing else, at least maybe someone else can learn," she said.