Ridgeline development OK’d

Dan Kulin

Wednesday, June 2, 2004 | 9:24 a.m.

For the first time, a Henderson ridgeline will have homes built on top of it.

The Henderson City Council voted 5-0 on Tuesday to approve a development plan that calls for putting 65 houses on top of a ridge in the McCullough Mountain Range. Those homes are among 472 planned for a 632.4-acre development called Crystal Ridge.

The proposed development was supported by some neighbors but strongly opposed by others who said the ridge-top homes would destroy views of the mountain range.

Bob Campbell, former Henderson city manager from 1977 to 1981 and now the representative for the property owner, said his client will develop the property so it is ready to be built on, then sell those home lots.

The property is generally south of the Roma Hills community and east of Sun City MacDonald Ranch. South and east of the planned Crystal Ridge development is the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area.

Campbell said construction on the property would probably begin in 60 to 90 days, and home construction could begin in early 2006.

Mayor Jim Gibson liked the plan, saying, "We've never seen anything like this in Henderson. ... This is something that will add value to the city."

Gibson predicted the ridge-top homes would look like "specks on a hill."

Councilman Andy Hafen also approved. "This will enhance the beauty of that mountain," he said.

But some neighbors disagreed.

Maureen Progar, 61, a Sun City MacDonald Ranch resident, was one of three who spoke against the project during a public hearing. Progar said that while she does not oppose the overall development of the land, she does not want the 65 homes to be built on top of the ridge.

Council members also said they were concerned that not allowing the ridgeline construction could lead to worse scarring of the hillside.

Allowing construction on the ridge took special permission from the council, but city staff said the alternative would have been to allow the developer to build 100 feet from the ridge. Building there would require hundreds of feet of in-fill under the homes because the hill is so steep near the ridge, city Senior Planner David Norris said.