County approves homes near sewage plant

Dan Kulin

Thursday, May 20, 2004 | 10:56 a.m.

Despite opposition from county staff and the area's Town Advisory Board, the Clark County Commission approved zoning changes Wednesday that allow for more than 800 homes on about 88 acres near a sewage treatment plant, power plant, and salvage yard in Sunrise Manor.

Commissioner Myrna Williams said the planned residential developments will create affordable homes for working-class families at a time when buying a house is becoming increasingly expensive.

In April the median price for a new Las Vegas home was more than $233,000, and the median price of a resale home was more than $215,000, industry trackers reported.

Williams said she hopes the new homes, which in general are near Hollywood Boulevard and Vegas Valley Drive, will sell for around $120,000 each.

"Sometimes you have to do things that are not so popular because it is the right thing to do," Williams said. "We're growing so fast we need to do this. ... But I hate to go against the town board."

The five separate properties had been zoned for or master-planned for industrial uses, and county zoning officials had recommended against allowing residential development there.

"Historically residential development is not a compatible use next to sewer facilities and an electric generation plant," county Zoning Administrator Chuck Pulsipher said.

He said that having the five projects come forward at the same time made it easier for the developers to argue that the area is changing into an area ripe for residential development.

Lucy Stewart, who represents the owners of two of the five properties that were rezoned, said there are already homes around the sewer and power plants, and plans for more residential developments in the area have already been approved.

"We're looking for entry-level homes and a chance for people to buy a house," Stewart said.

To make sure prospective buyers are forewarned about the nearby sewer and power plants, as well as the potential for more industrial facilities to go up in the area, the commissioners are requiring that they be given written notice. The notices are required to be on a separate piece of paper and the print must be in large print.

"It's important that people know what they're getting themselves into," Pulsipher said, adding that such disclosures are commonly used in areas near a potential nuisance, such as airports.

The commissioners voted 5-1 to approve a zoning changes for a 5-acre parcel planned to hold 55 homes; and a 20-acre property planned to have 213 homes.

Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates voted against the zoning changes.

The commission voted 4-0 to approve changing the zoning on 19.3 acres, where 249 homes are planned; and 10.4 acres that is planned to have 168 homes on it.

Atkinson Gates did not vote on those items, and Commission Chairman Chip Maxfield abstained from those votes.

The commission also voted voted 5-0 for for zoning changes on 33 acres that will allow plans for 159 homes. Plans for an additional 153 homes on that land were changed for a less dense residential zoning designation there. Pulsipher did not know how many homes could end on the property in light of that change.

Commissioner Bruce Woodbury was absent from the meeting.

Commissioner Rory Reid, who supported the zoning changes, said: "In a perfect world this would be an industrial area, but there is a lot of pressure for residential because of the growth. And the people who live closest to this area prefer residential to industrial development."