Residents weary of blasts

Monday, Feb. 13, 2006 | 2:39 a.m.

A group of Henderson seniors has mounted a campaign urging the City Council to limit construction blasting near homes to protect public safety and their properties.

Residents of Sun City MacDonald Ranch, which has about 2,500 homes restricted to people 55 and older, called on city officials Tuesday to toughen the city's blasting ordinance.

They hope to prevent a repeat of a Dec. 20 blasting mishap that might have damaged more than 100 homes, and to lessen the intensity of day-after-day blasting they believe is causing further damage. (The damage from the December incident will be detailed in a report that the blasting company is to submit to the city later this month.)

Residents presented the city a petition with 400 signatures collected since the weekend and vowed to get more if needed.

The Sun City MacDonald Ranch residents want a tougher ordinance as blasting occurs closer to the hillsides above them, fearing that future blasts could trigger rock slides.

"We are getting two blasts a day and are on pins and needles," said Maureen Progar, who helped spearhead the petition drive. "Nobody can give us any guarantees and that is scary, and we have homes right up against the ridge."

The daily blasts often cause homes to vibrate, residents said. Henderson officials say the city receives as many as 12 to 15 complaints a day from residents.

"Many feel like they are being held hostage to the blasting," Progar said.

The group has demanded that the City Council substantially limit the amount of explosives that contractors use within 2,500 feet of residential areas.

Today, contractors can blast within 100 feet of homes. The blasts, however, cannot exceed 120 decibels and must cause no more than one-half inch of vibration per second.

Progar stressed that the community's existing residents are "not trying to stop progress."

"We are just asking the city not to ignore those of us already here and paying taxes," she said.

Catherine Aimone-Martin, the city's blast consultant, said it would be difficult to dislodge hillside boulders above the homes. She also said it is impossible to prevent homes from shaking after blasts, and it would be difficult for contractors to reduce blasts and still be effective in breaking rock for road and home construction. The other option - using mechanical equipment - would take longer and generate nearly constant noise, Aimone-Martin said.

The company blamed the December incident on an underground void causing explosives to detonate simultaneously, increasing the intensity of the blast.

After the December damage, Henderson halted blasting for more than two weeks, then imposed new safety rules when Sanders Construction resumed blasting last month in the Canyons development south of Horizon Ridge Parkway near Green Valley Parkway. Sanders officials have declined to comment on the residents' proposal.

Henderson Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers said while she sympathizes with residents disturbed by the blasting, there may be no feasible way left to address their concerns.

The city's consultant has blamed weather rather than blasting for cracks that Henderson residents have found in their homes over the last several months, she said.

"I understand they are frustrated and it impacts their quality of life," Cyphers said. "I know this is where many of them came to retire and live a quiet life."

Brian Wargo can be reached at 259-4011 or at wargo@lasvegassun.com.