Housing haven: City offers options for those in need of help

Kris Hill

Tuesday, May 15, 2001 | 10:53 a.m.

In February Ivory Williams and her three daughters moved from their home near Rainbow Boulevard and Alta Drive to a townhome at Buena Vista Springs apartments in North Las Vegas.

She moved because she needed subsidized housing. She thought right away of North Las Vegas. The city, as many people in her circumstances know, has plenty of options for people needing help with housing costs.

Four years ago the Urban Land Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank, found while studying the Las Vegas Valley that North Las Vegas had 75 percent of the area's affordable housing, which is housing eligible for federal and local rent subsidies.

Among its conclusions was that public officials with other local governments -- including Las Vegas, Clark County and Henderson -- often denied variances normally granted for more expensive housing.

Over time, this created a housing imbalance for North Las Vegas -- proportionally more affordable housing units than mid-range and high-end housing. City officials have been seeking to solve the problem not by diminishing its stock of affordable housing, but by seeking to attract more master-planned communities designed for people with middle- and upper-level incomes.

More than a thousand apartments for low-income families and seniors have been built in the city over the past three decades, according to housing authority records.

There is still a shortage of senior housing, but Buena Vista Springs apartments has put a dent in it with 58 one- and two-bedroom apartments for those 65 and older with incomes below $15,000.

North Las Vegas officials say they remain committed to affordable housing, even while looking forward to the type of housing that last week's BLM land auction promises. Almost 2,000 acres of land were auctioned off to two high-end developers, Del Webb and American Nevada Corp.

"One of the positive things (about affordable housing) is that you provide transitional housing for people who are new to town," Jacque Risner, the city's community development director, said.

That helps alleviate a lot of the homeless problem, she said.

The down side, Risner said, is that affordable housing doesn't generate the property taxes that, for example, Henderson or Las Vegas receive for homes in areas such as Green Valley and Summerlin.

"The council then struggles to provide all the necessary services to all the residents because of the limited funding that the city has available," she said.

Affordable housing does, however, allow access to federal funds that might not otherwise be available to help families. Risner said this money can also be used to teach people about home ownership and how to get a loan to buy a home.

For Williams, it's more than an advantage. Buena Vista Springs is her community, and she's making it a home.

She helped found both Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops in the complex, and her two elementary-age daughters are in the Girl Scout troop she helps with every week.

Buena Vista Springs, which has more than 300 units, offers a health clinic, a food and clothing bank, a computer lab and other amenities.

Offering programs for youth, such as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, is important in the complex, Williams said, because they "teach the children independence and responsibility."