Homeowners association critics to be heard

Jace Radke

Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2003 | 10:55 a.m.

Shelley Scirone was among a group of about 175 Summerlin residents who couldn't even get in to a meeting of their homeowners' association a few months ago to argue against a ban on basketball hoops. But now she plans to be heard.

"We weren't on the agenda in November, but we're going to get our chance at Wednesday's meeting," Scirone said.

At the 4 p.m. meeting Wednesday at the Trails Center, 1910 Spring Gate Lane, another group also plans to be heard: pastors of churches in Summerlin that are required to pay monthly dues while others do not.

Both issues led to a heated encounter among residents in November, when neither those opposed to the rules nor people supporting them were allowed into the meeting of the Summerlin North Community Association because the issues were not on the agenda.

Current rules require homeowners to remove portable basketball hoops from streets or driveways when no one is using them. The rules do not permit permanent basketball hoops to be erected over garages or on permanent poles in driveways unless they are at least 40 feet from the curb.

"The problem is that there are people who have 40-foot driveways who are allowed to have hoops," said Scirone, who has two children who like to play basketball on a portable hoop in their cul-de-sac. "If it's an eyesore at one foot or no feet, how come it's not at 40 feet?"

In a recent survey of more than 5,000 Summerlin homeowners, commissioned by Scirone and other residents, a majority of respondents agreed with Scirone's point of view.

The survey, conducted by the polling firm Network Direct International, asked the homeowners a series of six questions. One question asked, "Do you think it is fair to allow some residents to keep their basketball hoops out, and not others?" More than 92 percent of respondents said the current policy is not fair.

However, 63 percent of respondents said that overall, homeowners' associations rules in Summerlin are "not too strict."

Association President Hal Bloch has said that the rules can easily be followed if people simply put the hoops away when they are through using them. Some residents argue that they don't have the space to move the hoops to the side of their homes or into a garage.

Last fall Henderson officials considered enacting an ordinance that would have outlawed leaving basketball hoops, skateboard ramps and other sports equipment unattended in a public street. That proposal was shelved indefinitely after some heated debate. Only Reno and a handful of other municipalities across the nation have enacted similar laws.

Pastor Dan Newburn and members of his Summerlin Community Baptist Church are also expected at Wednesday's meeting to protest a $581-a-month fee paid by the church to the association.

Association dues were waived for religious organizations that bought land in Summerlin in the early 1990s, but those that bought land later must pay the fees.

A 1995 purchase agreement for Newburn's church requires the dues. In May 2002 Newburn said he received a letter from the association saying that the church owed money every month.

In the Network Direct International survey, more than 88 percent of respondents said that all houses of worship should be treated equally under the rules.