Commissioner is seeking to crack down on halfway houses

Kris Hill

Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2001 | 11:14 a.m.

Residents of a southeast Las Vegas neighborhood could find relief from the proliferation of halfway houses for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts in their community if an ordinance proposed by County Commissioner Dario Herrera is passed in two weeks.

Herrera will introduce the ordinance, which would keep halfway houses with fewer than 11 residents from operating within 660 feet of one another, on Wednesday to the County Commission.

In the Hazelcrest neighborhood, near Flamingo and Sandhill roads, three halfway houses operate within a half-mile radius. The owners plan to open two more this month.

A public hearing on the ordinance will be held Jan. 17, after which commissioners will act.

The proposed ordinance leaves some room for houses to operate within 660 feet of one another if the owners can show that they won't have a negative impact on the neighborhood. In those cases a special use permit would be issued.

Herrera drafted the ordinance less than two weeks after meeting with more than 260 Hazelcrest neighbors at Woodbury Middle School.

Ken Stacey, a resident who has been active in trying to limit halfway houses in his neighborhood, wants more than a limit on distance.

Stacey hoped Herrera would find a way to limit the number of halfway houses in a neighborhood, because he would like to prevent any more halfway houses from opening in his.

At least the proposed ordinance could set a distance between houses of 1,500 feet, as suggested in the Fair Housing Act, he said. County zoning laws already require the distance of 660 feet for group homes and other residential facilities.

But it could be difficult for the ordinance to stand up under the weight of the Fair Housing Act, which county planners have said for months supercedes any local laws. The Fair Housing Act exempts halfway houses from zoning laws in an effort to prevent discrimination.

The proposed ordinance, while well meaning, will fare no better than the current county laws that require the distance, county planners say. The Fair Housing Act still supercedes their authority.

The county's only recourse is to require a use permit for homes that want to open within 660 feet of another licensed group home, Charles Pulsipher, designated zoning administrator, said. Not all halfway houses or group homes are licensed.

Two of the three halfway houses in the Hazelcrest neighborhood do not yet have their business licenses.

Currently licensed group homes and halfway houses would be grandfathered in, he said.

The ordinance also will get a close look from the Nevada Fair Housing Center, a federally funded group that deals with housing discrimination. County planners will meet with Nevada Fair Housing Center on Thursday, Pulsipher said.