SWEEPING THE SIDEWALKS Looking in on: suburbs

Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2007 | 10 p.m.

The merchants on Nevada Way in Boulder City have been displaying antiques and knickknacks on the sidewalk for decades. It's part of the charm of the small city -- pedestrians strolling under an awning, stopping to browse the weathered novels or vintage lunch boxes.

Soon that tradition may end, unless the sellers get a permit.

The city has discussed requiring permits for the shop owners who use the public walkways, despite the fact that the shops have been doing it for as long as Boulder City has existed.

“Everybody is ticked off about this,” said Bill Smith, the shopkeeper at Back in Thyme, an antiques store on Nevada Way. “Everybody up and down the street is upset with this.”

“This is what we are,” he said of the quaint shops lining the town's main street. “Everyone that walks in the door says, ‘You remind me of home.' The small town shops and tables are what get them to stop.”

Along with calling for the permits, the cost of which has not been determined, Boulder City also may require that businesses obtain a $1 million liability policy on the property. Don't even get Smith started on that.

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The Henderson Planning Commission delayed a zone change decision after seeing plans for the nearly 2,200-acre Landwell development proposed for a former toxic waste dump near Boulder Highway and Water Street.

The issue: the lack of workforce housing among the 15,000 residential units, three shopping areas and more than a dozen parks.

The decision raised eyebrows, especially among Landwell developers. Henderson officials have been happy with the plans, which could spark further redevelopment downtown and along Boulder Highway.

The Planning Commission can only make recommendations to the City Council, which makes the final decision. The council likely will hold a Landwell hearing next month.

The project would take at least eight years to complete. Before anything is built, there must be an extensive cleanup -- a $120 million project already under way.

Mike Trask can be reached at 259-8826 or at mike.trask@lasvegassun.com.