Henderson: Rock crusher’s OK paves way for Palm Hills

Valerie Miller

Monday, March 29, 1999 | 11:51 a.m.

Now that the Henderson Planning Commission has approved the use of a rock crusher to complete the Palm Hills community, residents hope to put the controversy behind them.

A rock-crushing and grading operation was approved last week by the Planning Commission to move about 800,000 cubic yards of rocks and material from the 165-acre Palm Hills subdivision.

The issue of allowing the rock crusher to operate for two years at the site at 100 W. Mission Drive, has divided the community and brought about 50 residents out for Thursday's meeting.

Some residents claim dust from the crusher would be a health hazard and the noise of trucks would disrupt the neighborhood. Others, however, say it is a necessity to complete the development and save homeowners' investments.

"We need to move forward because we are not going anywhere (as a community) with 80 feet of rock in our back yard," Rowan Strong, chairman of the Palm Hills Estates Homeowners Association, said in support of the crusher.

The 3-year-old community originally developed by Rhodes Homes has yet to be completed, causing many residents to claim they were misled about the development and Rhodes Homes.

"We've been lied to since the beginning, and it's been a nightmare living in this community," Palm Hills resident Kelly Nelson said.

Grading work on the site began three years ago after Rhodes received a limited permit from the City Council, but the permit expired in 1997, before the rock-crushing operation was complete.

Last November, after the development of Palm Hills stalled, District Court transferred control of the project to the receiver, Robert Apfelberg.

Apfelberg, who is the receiver for Rainbow Canyon LLC, the company that currently owns Palm Hills, said the material must be crushed and removed for the subdivision to be completed.

The only other alternative would be for the project to go into bankruptcy, according to Apfelberg.

"If Rainbow Canyon LLC had to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it would cause even more suffering for homeowners than they have already endured," he maintained.

Homeowners say they have endured a lot.

"I support the rock crusher because I don't want to go into bankruptcy," said Palm Hills resident Mindy Reynolds.

"I've spent hour and hours away from my children going to meetings (about the rock crusher) and this is just a no-win situation. It's been going on forever," Reynolds told the commission before breaking down in tears.

To upset many homeowners even further, on March 22, just four days before the Planning Commission meeting, a receivership court approved the sale of the assets of Rainbow Canyon LLC, which includes Palm Hills, to a Rhodes-related entity, Desert Communities Inc., for $13.5 million.

Desert Communities Inc. is a joint venture between Rhodes and Leucadia Funding Corp. The sale is expected to be finalized within 70 days, according to Apfelberg.

Partially because of residents' concerns of Rhodes controlling the development again, planners put strict conditions on the rock-crusher permit, including limiting hours of operation, setting alternate haul routes for trucks carrying the material and requiring the developer to pay for monitoring of the operation.

As an additional safeguard for residents, the commission required the developer to post a $200,000 bond to ensure the conditions are met.

"I think that we have done everything we can to protect residents and equalize what has happened out there," commission Vice Chairman George Bochanis said.

Residents are hoping for the best.

"We'll welcome Jim Rhodes back if he completes the development," Reynolds said after the meeting.

"The general interests of the community and the homeowners were a significant concern in the court's decision (to approve the sale)," Jim Rhodes, president of Rhodes Homes, said in a statement. He added that Palm Hills would be one of the most well-funded projects in the city.

Also on the agenda, planners denied a request to increase the number of lots in Phase III of the 108-acre Palm Hills subdivision from 560 to 640, saying the increased density would be too intense for the development.

Both Planning Commission rulings can be appealed before the City Council.