Churches cause redevelopment woes

Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2000 | 10:36 a.m.

Las Vegas' redevelopment efforts are hampered by too many churches restricting economic investment and abandoned buildings plaguing neighborhoods, staffers told the City Council on Monday.

The council held a special meeting to discuss development and building-code issues. The council directed the staff to come up with proposed ordinances that address problems arising from the dozens of churches in Councilman Lawrence Weekly's West Las Vegas district and to find ways of getting rid of unsightly and dangerous abandoned buildings throughout the city.

In West Las Vegas, about 60 religious facilities have been identified, Planning Director Tim Chow told the council. Each one of those sites casts a 400-foot shadow from the property line that restricts any new business from selling alcohol or old businesses from expanding or rebuilding.

The problem has been a thorn in the side of those seeking to revitalize the historic commercial activity on Jackson Street, which was once a mecca for blacks banned from the casinos on the Strip. New nightclubs and taverns are essentially prohibited from the area because of the concentration of large and small churches in the neighborhood.

Many churches also lack parking to serve their congregations, Chow said.

"We don't even know where all the churches are," he said. "Sometimes we find out the hard way where a church is."

Weekly said he believes at least 35 churches are active in West Las Vegas that haven't been identified by the city staff.

Many churches aren't registered with the city, Chow said.

The staff will try to come up with ordinances that address the issues, he said. The ordinances could include extending zoning protections only to churches registered with the city, or extending those protections only in residential areas.

Deputy City Attorney Stephen L. George told the council that the city cannot restrict the number of churches in a neighborhood but can enforce reasonable requirements, such as the amount of parking the church must provide.

In other redevelopment discussions, city staff will draft ordinances for the council to control the number and condition of abandoned buildings throughout the city.

Sharon Segerblom, Neighborhood Services director, said poorly secured, abandoned buildings are magnets for crime, a danger to children, fire hazards and homes for insect and rodent vermin.

Many boarded-up buildings, both commercial and residential, are owned by out-of-state mortgage holders and banks, she said.

The city ordinance now on the books needs to be strengthened, she said. Many of the buildings that are inadequately secured with plywood over the major openings are easily entered by vagrants, vandals and children, Segerblom said.

Properties boarded up for long periods become havens for trash and debris, as well as mold, spores and viruses, she said.

The city frequently has to respond to a problem in these properties, Segerblom said.

"The city of Las Vegas should not be spending taxpayer resources when it is the property owner who has created the problem," she said.

Among the city law changes Segerblom suggested was a requirement that property owners register their boarded-up buildings and pay for registration and annual inspections.

Registration would allow the city to create and keep a database of boarded-up buildings, she said. A new ordinance also could include minimum standards for securing a vacant building.

The city could also require owners of vacant commercial property to install alarm systems, she said.

The city could put a lien on property owned by scofflaws or transfer the property to the city over the course of several years, Segerblom said.

The proposed ordinances could go back to the City Council for action in 30 days, she said.