Looking in on: suburbs

Friday, June 30, 2006 | 7:36 a.m.

Lake Las Vegas, the luxury community in Henderson, will lose its distinction Saturday of having exclusive use of its 89011 ZIP code, and some residents aren't too happy about it.

The development on the fringe of Henderson's city limits will share its 89011 with an RV park, fast-food restaurants, lounges and the industrial corridor along Boulder Highway that were included in Henderson's original ZIP code, 89015.

The Postal Service shrugged off a complaint that Lake Las Vegas should be allowed exclusive use of 89011.

"A ZIP code is not a status symbol and never was meant to be," said Marilyn Fenimore, a Postal Service spokeswoman.

Tell that to the folks in Beverly Hills' 90210.

Lake Las Vegas has a population of 1,000 residents, according to a Henderson estimate. ZIP codes are intended to serve up to 10,000 addresses, and new ZIP codes are created when 75 percent of that is reached. Clearly, 89011 wasn't being fully employed by Lake Las Vegas, so postal officials decided to expand its boundaries.

When development there is completed, Lake Las Vegas will have 5,000 units and a population of 12,800. Coupled with about 2,000 homes planned for the adjacent Tuscany Village, the area will regain exclusive use of its ZIP code.

Marketers frequently target specific ZIP codes because of their demographics. So the blending of Lake Las Vegas and Boulder Highway businesses and residents may cause some mixed results.

About 46 percent of Lake Las Vegas residents have an annual household income of $100,000 or more, compared with 7 percent for old Henderson. The median income in 89011 is $78,723, compared with $44,552 for 89015.

On July 7, District Judge Kathy Hardcastle will consider whether to halt citizens' efforts in Boulder City to force the city to sell up to 107,000 acres and keep the proceeds for themselves.

Folks there have signed petitions to put the land sale on the November ballot, a notion that is causing all sorts of grief at City Hall.

The proposed election would call for the land to be sold to developers - with proceeds going to people who lived in Boulder City as of March 31. Some people think they could make between $750,000 and $3 million .

Boulder City officials say the ballot measure would probably pass, even though they contend only 10,000 acres of the 107,000 acres can be sold for development. That would net residents less than $200,000 each. But officials said the City Charter is clear that proceeds from any land sales can be spent only for capital improvement projects.

"We believe it's illegal and think there's a high possibility we are going to succeed," Boulder City Attorney Dave Olsen said. "You can't sell land that doesn't belong to you."

Organizers contend they should have a right to petition the government through ballot initiatives and are upset Boulder City is spending money to fight them in court.

"I feel based on the law and the facts, we should win," said Sherman Rattner, co-founder of the coalition leading the campaign. "But the courts are a funny place here. Whatever the outcome, it will go to the (state) Supreme Court ."

The movie "Madagascar" was playing Saturday night at Aliante Nature Discovery, but "Singing in the Rain" or "Waterworld" might have been more fitting.

"Madagascar," part of North Las Vegas' summer movie series at city parks, attracted about 1,500 people. With about 10 minutes left in the movie, the park's sprinklers came on .

"People were laughing and jumping up to get out of the way," said Brenda Johnson, the city's spokeswoman. "Some said it was quite refreshing." That's understandable because the temperature was above 100 degrees.

Johnson said a programming error prompted the sprinklers to turn on accidentally, and parks officials are taking steps to keep it from happening again. The next movie, "Two Brothers," is July 15 at Joe Kneip Park.

Because the movies are free, the city didn't have to trouble itself with rain checks.