A simple solution

Thursday, April 20, 2006 | 8:18 a.m.

By Emily Richmond Las Vegas Sun

Students at one of Clark County's new elementary schools will be given a stern and unusual warning with their registration paperwork: Don't mess with the horses.

The warning is part of a compromise with residents of a rural Henderson neighborhood that will be home to the future Smalley Elementary School. Members of a neighborhood preservation group cited the harassment of horses as one of the reasons they opposed plans for the school.

When the Henderson City Council voted 5-0 this week to allow construction to go forward, it called upon the School District to send mailers to parents telling them "to instruct their children not to interact with the neighboring horses due to potential injuries."

The school is to be built at the northeast corner of Paradise Hills Drive and Greenway Road.

Rosina Diaz, who has been in her new home at the corner of Patti Ann Woods Drive and Greenway less than a month, said she was unprepared for the attention her family's two horses already have attracted from students making their way to and from Mannion Middle School a quarter-mile away.

"Horses are gentle and nice but sometimes they're not in the mood - and they're big, heavy animals," Diaz said. "We don't have the money to fence our property all the way around. I guess we're going to have to put signs around saying, 'Don't pet the horses, stay away from the horses.' "

The planned school, scheduled to open for the 2007-08 academic year, will alleviate overcrowding at Walker International Elementary School in nearby Mission Hills. Walker opened in 2003 with 600 students. Enrollment has more than doubled, and 19 portable classrooms are in use.

Walker Principal Alan Bowman said he believed students would abide by the no-horseplay rules. An estimated 700 students currently attending Walker live west of Greenway and would likely be rezoned for the Smalley campus.

"I realize they're (the rural neighborhood group) trying to preserve what they've got up there, but this is just a fact of life when a community grows," Bowman said.

Paradise Hills, an enclave of custom homes on oversized lots with access to surrounding equestrian trails, is covered by a rural preservation ordinance. Adopted by Henderson in 2001, the ordinance exempts the community from certain typical requirements such as sidewalks, curbs and streetlights. It also set stricter limits on development, although school construction was not banned outright.

Henderson Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers, whose district includes the rural neighborhoods in the city's southeastern foothills, said Tuesday's vote came after three hours of debate and discussion. She called it one of the most difficult decisions she has faced as an elected official.

The goal of the preservation ordinance was "protection of the character of a neighborhood, not blocking development," said Cyphers, who helped craft the law.

"It's difficult to strike that balance," Cyphers said. "I used to live in a rural neighborhood, I understand that lifestyle. We take our residents' concerns seriously."

Similar battles could be avoided with better communication between the city and the School District, Cyphers said, adding that residents would benefit from a better understanding of how school sites are selected.

Last month, Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson asked Clark County Schools Superintendent Walt Rulffes to reconsider the location. District officials said the alternative sites proposed by the city either could not be ready in time for the 2007-08 academic year, or are needed for other future campuses.

As part of the agreement with the city, the School District also agreed to build an equestrian trail along the north and eastern boundaries of the site. The district will also help pay costs incurred by horse owners during the construction of the school in the event that the animals must be temporarily moved.

Fred Smith, construction manager for the district, said the equestrian trail and the furthest point of the school property will be about 40 feet apart, separated by both fencing and landscaping.

"The concern was if the children could look through the chain-link fence and see the horses, the temptation would be to pick up whatever they could find and throw it at the horses," Smith said.