Residents up against a wall

Diana Sahagun

Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2001 | 8:36 a.m.

A block wall, which has been three years in the making, has finally risen around the Bonanza Village neighborhood.

Still, some residents aren't thrilled with the result, and they plan to fight what they will be asked to pay for the project.

After an eight-month delay as the project was tied up in the Nevada Supreme Court, the Las Vegas City Council today was expected to approve a resolution that signifies construction of the $824,698 security wall has been completed.

Because of added costs and delays, the project will cost about $1.17 million. Each of the 168 residents in Bonanza Village will be assessed for their portion of the $824,698 wall, and the remaining costs will be paid for through a special Public Works account from money set aside from other special improvement projects in the city.

While the wall's completion is a relief to some members of the homeowners' association, others say they didn't get what they expected. Resident Dan Contreras says he and a group of neighbors will object to the assessment during a public hearing tentatively scheduled 1 p.m. Dec. 19 at City Hall.

In 1998 a majority of Bonanza Village residents presented the council with a petition asking that a Special Improvement District be levied on their West Las Vegas neighborhood to build a security wall. Residents said their development, which is more than 50 years old, needed a boost in regard to property value, as well as protection from vandals.

Each of the property owners would be assessed a share of the wall's nearly $825,000 price tag.

Contractors in June 2000 tore down the homeowners' temporary walls surrounding the area of Bonanza Road and Martin Luther King Boulevard to construct one continuous block wall.

Construction began, but the project was halted several months later when resident Cuthbert Mack sued the city, saying a majority of residents did not want the wall. The suit ultimately landed in the hands of the Nevada Supreme Court, which ruled in March 2001 -- eight months later -- that the city could proceed with construction.

Contreras said the residents may not have been informed in regard to how much they would be expected to pay for their portion of the wall.

Contreras said he initially was told the wall would cost $2,300 per resident, and was shocked to hear he would be assessed more than $4,000. He said the residents should have been told what they would be expected to pay before construction began.

Deputy City Attorney Bryan Scott said the costs to property owners are estimated and won't be finalized until the council gives its final approval.

After the council signs off on the project, the Public Works Department will finalize the total costs and inform residents before next month's public hearing, he said.

Contreras said the wall is an eyesore and a safety hazard because -- along Washington Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard -- there is no room for sidewalks.

He said that the wall doesn't meet the city's development standards because it is made of plain brick. New housing developments, he said, must build walls that use stucco or split-face.

"If this was a more affluent neighborhood, over on Alta Drive, and (local attorney) Ed Bernstein was living next door, it would be a whole different story," he said. "We would have gotten what we paid for. People look at this wall and say we're getting the worst wall for the maximum price."