Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Group homes come under fire in NLV

A proliferation of boardinghouses that serve parolees has prompted North Las Vegas officials to consider a six-month moratorium on new group homes. That would give them time to draft regulations curtailing so-called transitional housing.

The city's push was prompted by complaints from residents of a North Las Vegas neighborhood that has 11 group homes, which also serve the homeless and mentally ill people. City officials said they have approved several permits for group homes this year and others are pending.

Residents of Lawry Avenue say group homes have changed the character of their neighborhood and fear it will lower their property values. They complain about burglaries and about newcomers being up late at night, playing loud music and yelling. Some residents say they won't let their children or grandchildren play outside.

"There are so many different people out there all the time that it makes me afraid to go outside," said Flora Mason, 76, who has lived in her Lawry Avenue home for 45 years. "We don't know if we have murderers or rapists. This is supposed to be a neighborhood for children.

"We are not going to stand by and let this happen. They are not going to run me out. We fought through the gangs and drugs, and we are going to fight this."

Operators of the group homes say the residents' fears are unfounded. They say their tenants aren't causing problems and are being unfairly targeted. They also say such homes are needed to help residents make their transition back into society.

Charlene Bynum, who operates four group homes on Lawry Avenue, said they have made the neighborhood better.

"There were people selling drugs and gang-bangers and people carrying guns into a place where people are getting recovery," Bynum said. "We turned the streets from high crime rate into one where people can feel more comfortable in their neighborhood and safe in their homes."

North Las Vegas officials aren't targeting facilities for the homeless or halfway houses for recovering alcohol or drug abusers. But the officials are considering regulations including a prohibition on homes that serve released prisoners, capping the number or placing separation requirements to prevent a concentration as happened in the city's southwest neighborhood.

It's not a problem that's limited to North Las Vegas.

Las Vegas officials are considering additional regulations for group homes that cater to parolees and halfway houses for recovering alcoholics and addicts. They also are looking at keeping homes that serve ex-offenders at least 1,500 feet from schools, churches and child-care facilities.

Clark County officials are considering limits on the number of unrelated people living in a boardinghouse, cutting it to four from the six now allowed.

The proposed rules wouldn't apply to group homes dealing with drug and alcohol recovery and mental health because they are protected by federal and state laws, said Clark County Planning Manager Chuck Pulsipher.

Some of the group-home operators are sympathetic to the problems in North Las Vegas.

"We probably need some control, but we must have a transitional housing program if we are going to be able to help people come back into society," said Bonnie Polley, chairwoman of Accent People, which operates a group home in North Las Vegas.

North Las Vegas has attracted several group homes because it lacks the tougher restrictions of Clark County and Las Vegas, Polley said. She sympathizes with residents because some of the noncertified facilities are poorly supervised and essentially operate as flophouses.

Polley said she wouldn't mind a moratorium as long as it's not for too long and as long as the city doesn't move to prohibit homes operated by groups such as Accent People. But the proposed moratorium has stalled the nonprofit group's plans to open a second group home in the city.

Its home at 1920 Lawry Ave., which opened in April, is the only one on the block and one of three in North Las Vegas certified by the Division of Parole and Probation to house ex-offenders. Polley, who is chaplain at the Clark County Detention Center, said the six residents of her group home aren't causing problems. The residents are required to work, stay sober and adhere to curfews. Sex offenders and violent offenders aren't accepted into the program.

Marvie Hill, who operates two certified homes in North Las Vegas, blamed the city for allowing the overconcentration of group homes in the Lawry Avenue neighborhood. Now, the city is using the problems to exclude parolees at three group homes he plans to open in other parts of the city.

Norniece Adams, who operates four group homes with up to 10 beds in each, said she is not aware of any problems in the Lawry Avenue neighborhood and is critical of any efforts to limit transitional housing in North Las Vegas. She said the group homes are a sanctuary for the residents.

Rent at most of the homes is about $400 a month, which residents pay from their paycheck, welfare or federal disability assistance.

People complain about the homeless living on the streets, Adams said, but when there are opportunities to give them a safe place, they complain as well.

"If the city wants to cap anything, they should limit the number of casinos that go up, not something that helps people have better lives," Adams said.

Gary Peck, executive director of the ACLU of Nevada, said neighborhood residents' fear of ex-prisoners and homeless living next door doesn't justify the city crackdown on transitional housing. With a shortage of affordable housing, group homes provide some security and stability.

"If you take that away," he said, "you are going to make it more difficult for them to straighten out their lives, and the potential for recidivism becomes greater."

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