Summerlin residents battle community association

Thursday, Nov. 21, 2002 | 11:11 a.m.

Supporters of home basketball hoops and advocates of fee-free houses of worship clashed with the Summerlin North Community Association board Wednesday night over what is permitted in their neighborhoods and at board meetings.

About 175 people milled outside the Trail Hills Center where the homeowners association board was meeting, and much of the crowd wound up leaving the meeting frustrated and vowing to continue the battle.

Most of the parents who were protesting rules banning portable basketball hoops in the street and churchgoers who wanted to abolish association fees for area churches were not allowed into the meeting. And the board refused to hear from them at the meeting because they were not on the agenda. As well, there wasn't enough room to hold the crowd.

One of 60 delegates attending the association board meeting yelled back at the crowd as children and adults using bullhorns expressed their support for playing basketball.

The man cursed at them and shouted "go home."

Association president Hal Bloch told the crowd the board would "address both issues at next month's meeting because we have two new board members."

The rules requiring homeowners to remove portable basketball hoops from in front of their homes and imposing a $500-a-month fee on the churches were set by the association months ago after delegates unanimously agreed, he said.

"If you are going to use portable hoops, put them away when you're through," Bloch said to residents of the master-planned community milling in the hall.

One father, Mark Scirone, said he had a two-car garage with two cars. "Where are we going to put it?" he asked a crowd outside the center.

"We're passionate about our kids," Shelley Scirone said, describing how she had grown up in New York City and played in the streets. The Scirones have three children, one of them adopted and two foster children.

"They absolutely must make the laws fair," Shelley Scirone said. "We wanted our kids at home. Now I'm getting letters from their (association) attorney threatening to put a lien on my property."

Not everyone agreed with hoop supporters.

"I think the protesters are out of line," said Desiree Kicker. She said she had a 6-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter who played basketball.

"We follow the rules," Kicker said. "If they fight the rules, my property will be worthless."

Las Vegas City Councilman Larry Brown was invited to speak to the association's board about what the city could do. The former baseball player became an umpire of sorts between the association and the protesters, but made it clear the city cannot become an enforcer.

"It happens all over the city," Brown said of complaints about everything in the street from abandoned vehicles to refrigerators, and yes, hoops. "In the priority of things, basketball hoops would be pretty far down on the list."

Minor infractions are ignored, unless there is a safety issue, Brown said. For example, the city has a rule that children can't play on sidewalks. "The city simply does not enforce the ordinance," he said.

After the meeting Brown said that he believed both sides will reach a compromise. "Each side has to give a little," he said.

The hoops supporters were not the only protesters at the meeting. Summerlin Community Baptist Church members, led by their pastor, Dan Newburn stood outside holding signs that read, "Stop Taxing Worship,"and "Stop Taxing Churches."

Summerlin Community Baptist Church was constructed in 1995 and in May 2002 Newburn said he got a letter from the association saying the church owed $500 per month.

"So it's $6,000 a year to have a church in Summerlin," Newburn said. When Summerlin was developed, four churches were allowed to build in the community for free, he said. That rankles the newcomers.

"We're trying to get it changed so we don't have to pay," church financial secretary Mary Dean said. "I pay it just like the homeowners association fee of $31 a month."

But Newburn said the congregation will continue trying to change it. "We're going to keep praying and petitioning," he said.