Limits on halfway houses proposed

Kris Hill

Thursday, Jan. 4, 2001 | 11:01 a.m.

One sentence may make all the difference in the fate of four halfway houses in a southeast Las Vegas neighborhood.

County Commissioner Dario Herrera, acting on the complaints of residents who say there are too many of the houses for recovering addicts and alcoholics too close together, on Wednesday introduced an ordinance that would require a minimum of 660 feet between such houses.

The four houses in the Hazelcrest neighborhood, near Flamingo and Sandhill roads, are owned by Lorri Ahlm, her brother Phillip Ahlm and their mother, Judy Nelson, who already have one licensed halfway house in the area.

Two of the houses are open and in the process of getting business licenses, and two others are planned and have applications for licenses filed with the county Business Department.

But one sentence that is often added after such an ordinance is introduced was not entered into the public record at the zoning board meeting Wednesday.

"As of today, any business that is affected by this ordinance that is not licensed cannot receive its licensing until the ordinance has been passed."

Had that been uttered publicly, the four unlicensed houses -- within a half-mile radius of each other and the fifth house -- would not be able to get their licenses until the ordinance is voted on, and then could be ruled illegal by the new ordinance, if it passed.

The ordinance is scheduled for a vote after a public hearing Jan. 17, and if passed would go into effect Jan. 31.

If the four houses are licensed before Jan. 31, they will be grandfathered, Chuck Pulsipher, a zoning administrator for the county, said.

The owners expect three licenses to be issued by the end of this week, and the fourth before Jan. 17.

That leaves the county's business licensing department with few choices.

"Right now we're in limbo," Ardel Jorgensen, executive director, said Wednesday.

She said that if the sentence had been entered into the public record, she could freeze the applications.

Jorgensen said this morning that she spoke with the county's attorneys today to see if there are further options and hopes to have an answer by day's end.

Herrera was surprised to find out during a break in the meeting that the application process for the halfway houses had not been frozen.

"But we're doing everything we can to make sure we can enforce the ordinance," Herrera said.