Summerlin retains hoop rules

Dan Kulin

Thursday, Jan. 23, 2003 | 11:04 a.m.

After a sometimes contentious and emotional meeting Wednesday night, basketball hoops still can't be left within 40 feet of the curb in a Summerlin neighborhood, and some churches in the community are still required to pay monthly dues.

The Summerlin North Community Association Board of Directors considered requests to change rules for basketball hoops and churches during its regular monthly meeting, but left the rules intact.

Resident Terri Janison said she will continue to keep a basketball hoop for her two kids in front of her Summerlin home, and she will probably continue to rack up fines from the homeowners association for having it there.

So far the association has fined the Janisons more than $700, which they have not paid.

Janison asked the association board to get rid of the 40-foot rule, which she and some others say means only those with enough money to live on a large lot can leave their basketball hoops outside.

"It's not about whether you like or don't like basketball hoops," Janison said. "It's whether you treat all homeowners the same."

Another woman asked, "How many homes under $500,000 have that much room?"

Rose Bishop said she agreed all homeowners should be treated equally, but she said the board should ban all basketball hoops.

Mark Upchurch said it seems like a minority of homeowners are trying to force basketball hoops on the rest of the residents.

Association board president Hal Bloch said the 40-foot rule was established in April to allow homeowners to keep sports equipment on their property while making sure that equipment was stored out of sight from the road.

"It was defining what is out of sight," Bloch said. "The issue here is that you put your toys away when you're done with them."

Bloch said he thinks the majority of the residents of the 15,000-home community want the rules to stay as they are.

He said the board will try to "confirm that the vast majority want the rules the way they are and want them enforced."

Although it is unclear when the basketball hoops dispute may be resolved, Bloch said he hopes the matter of charging churches monthly fees will be put to rest within the next few weeks.

Bloch said board members would like to get rid of the fees but they are not sure whether they have the authority to eliminate a source of revenue for the homeowners association or whether there needs to be a vote of the homeowners.

The Howard Hughes Corp. is getting a legal opinion on the matter to answer that questions, he said.

"We want to be able to do what you want us to do," Bloch told Summerlin Community Baptist Church Pastor Dan Newburn during the meeting.

Newburn said even though the church signed a contract that called for it to pay the fee, he wants the association to renegotiate the contract.

Currently, churches in Summerlin are charged $124 per month per acre, except for the first four churches in the development, which were exempted.

Newburn said the fee costs his church $478 a month.