New ward map approved

Dan Kulin

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004 | 8:20 a.m.

The Henderson City Council adopted a new ward map on Tuesday, choosing the one that most resembled the old map.

The chosen map, which was approved by a 5-0 vote, leaves most boundary lines unchanged with some shifts in neighborhoods between Horizon Ridge and Green Valley parkways and Interstate 215.

Redrawing the ward boundaries, last done two years ago, happens when population shifts and growth create unequal wards. This round of border changes is proposed to leave the city with four wards each with an average population of about 57,000, and none 5 percent larger or smaller than another, City Clerk Monica Simmons said.

The changes do not put two council members in one ward.

In Henderson, council members are elected at large, by all city voters, but the council members must live in different wards. The mayor, who is a fifth voting member of the council, is also elected at large.

The adopted map, known as option No. 4, left Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers' Ward I, which is made up of the eastern part of the city south of Lake Las Vegas, unchanged.

Ward III, represented by Councilman Jack Clark, includes most of the northern part of the city, split by I-215 and Lake Mead Parkway, with Lake Las Vegas on the east and railroad tracks its southwest border. That ward grew a little by adding some land northeast of where Stephanie Street crosses I-215, which was part of Ward IV.

Ward IV, represented by Councilman Steven Kirk, expands a little to the south. That ward, which is essentially in the middle of the west edge of the city, extends part of its southern border to Green Valley and Horizon Ridge parkways.

Ward II, represented by Councilman Andy Hafen, also changes very little. That ward gives up some land to Ward IV, but also takes a piece of that ward east of Eastern Avenue. Ward II is where the most intense growth is expected during the coming years, as it includes the land around the Henderson Executive Airport, some of which was sold in a recent Bureau of Land Management auction.