Henderson City Council puts off decision on shopping center

Valerie Miller

Wednesday, Oct. 6, 1999 | 11:58 a.m.

The Henderson City Council Tuesday postponed a decision on a controversial proposal for shopping center near the Community College of Southern Nevada's Henderson campus.

The College Square shopping center, which would be at the corner of Horizon and College drives, brought out residents in opposition to commercial development at last month's Planning Commission meeting.

The City Council is slated to make a ruling on the project on Oct. 19. The city's Planning Commission has recommended approval of the center.

Neighbors fear that the shopping center, which will include a Lucky supermarket along with retail and office space, would pose safety hazards and destroy the character of their neighborhood.

Residents said they also were worried about the safety of children in the area because of increased traffic congestion and crime they say would accompany the project. Community members had made it clear to the Planning Commission that the alcohol sales and gambling permits requested by Lucky was not welcome near their homes.

"If people want to gamble and buy liquor, they can go to Boulder Highway and do it," Georgia DeBerry had told planning commissioners. "This was a residential neighborhood when we moved here, and I don't think that the children should be subjected to alcohol sales on their way to school."

The developer of the project, World Premier Investments Inc., had proposed a 10-acre project with seven lots and 60,714-square-foot supermarket with a mezzanine.

Planning Commissioners tried to lessen the impact on the surrounding neighborhood by recommending that four sites adjacent to the grocery store become either retail, office or financial institutions.

World Premier Investments would also be required to provide an 8-foot-high wall and landscaping buffers of 10 and 20 feet around the shopping center to shield residents. The development would also be required to limit its delivery hours.