Arbitrator will try to dunk basketball feud

Judy Odierna and Dan Kulin

Thursday, Feb. 6, 2003 | 10:57 a.m.

The fight over basketball hoops in a Summerlin neighborhood is heading to an arbitrator who could rule on the matter within a month, Summerlin North Community Association President Hal Bloch said Wednesday.

Bloch said the association is taking two families to arbitration over leaving basketball hoops in front of their homes, which he says is a violation of Summerlin regulations that require homeowners to store sports equipment out of sight. The community rules allow homeowners to store basketball hoops outside if they are 40 feet from the road.

But Terri Janison, one of the homeowners heading to arbitration, says she will continue to leave a hoop in front of her house. Janison says the association has let some residents leave hoops out for years.

"It's selective enforcement," Janison said.

But Bloch said the discrimination argument is a "smoke screen."

"It would not surprise me if mistakes were made in the past with regards to enforcement ... But we see this as a contractual violation," Bloch said.

Bloch also said a recent telephone survey of 602 of the 15,000 households in Summerlin North showed that almost 80 percent of them supported the hoops policy.

The arbitrator's ruling will not be binding, Bloch said, and either side could take their case to the courts, which Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman suggested during a City Council meeting Wednesday.

"It's not our job to solve this," Goodman said. "It is incredible to me that it has gotten to this point."

The council was weighing any action it could take, and voted only to remove a 60-day moratorium on code enforcement on sports equipment while the city studied the issue.

Janison, who had moved her hoop to the city-owned street, agreed with Goodman's assessment.

"Please let this be decided by between the homeowners and the association," she said. "This has gone on for two years and it's ridiculous. This is about children playing in their neighborhood."

But Randy Ecklund, community manager and executive director of Summerlin North, said it's about the hoops not the kids.

"It's about putting equipment away when you are done playing," he said.

City code enforcers respond if called about sports equipment being left out overnight. Offenders get a warning after a first and second visits. Third and fourth visits bring fines, and after a fifth visit the city's Rapid Response team removes the equipment.

Janison and Bloch said they have tried to work out a compromise but couldn't.

However, Councilman Larry Brown, whose district includes the area, said Wednesday he still believed there was a way for both groups to come to a compromise before going to the courts.

"Go back to the board and have a dialogue and see if there is an 11th hour opportunity," Brown said.