LOOKING IN ON: SUBURBS

By Mike Trask (contact)

Monday, Oct. 1, 2007 | 7 a.m.

As promised, new Boulder City Councilman Travis Chandler is pushing for changes that would allow residents to make more direct decisions on policy and personnel.

At a meeting last week he asked an appointed board to review changes to the city charter, including one that would allow voters to decide whether the city should enter major leases, such as a recent 50-year agreement that would put a Hawthorn Suites hotel near a city-run golf course.

"Obviously, I don't want to bother to voters with trivial leases," Chandler said, noting the council recently approved a lease of a small parcel for a communications tower. "But it should be on long-term leases that have a long-term impact."

The city already requires voter approval to sell land. But some critics of city government have said the council uses leases to circumvent taking major land decisions to the polls. The complaints were renewed recently after the council approved the Hawthorn lease on two acres and another 50-year lease for a seniors' complex on 30 acres near Adams Boulevard and Veterans Memorial Drive.

However, the council would make the final decision on any change to the charter, and Chandler may not have many allies. Other council members have said allowing the voters to decide on leases would be expensive and time-consuming.

Chandler also asked the charter commission to review allowing voters to decide every four years whether the city attorney should be retained. "It would allow them to fire him," he said.

Additionally, new Councilwoman Linda Strickland asked the commission to review the possibility of forming an Airport Commission and to explore term limit rules that would forbid a person from consecutively serving three council terms and three terms as mayor.

The Henderson City Council late last year approved a teenage nightclub on Sunset Road. It is the only club for underage patrons in the city, and it might be the last.

The council has expressed concerns about Frozen 75's location - in a strip mall between a liquor store and a small casino.

Now the council is considering banning teen clubs within 600 feet of any business with a liquor or gaming license, or that is sexually oriented.

Because it already exists, Frozen 75 will not be affected by the ordinance. Even so, owner Samuel Azeke has spoken out against the proposed ordinance. He said guests pass through three security checks to enter his club, making it a safer place for teens than an unsupervised house party.

The council is scheduled to vote on the ordinance Tuesday.

The newest master-planned community in Henderson held its grand opening last week.

Inspirada, south of the Henderson Executive Airport, will add 13,500 homes on 2,000 acres to the fast-growing city. It also will include a commercial center and 300 acres of parks.

The first residents will move in this month. Construction on the seven neighborhoods will continue for several years.

Inspirada is distinguished by its pedestrian-friendly ambience with trails connecting neighborhoods, allowing residents to walk to the store rather than getting behind the wheel.

It was two years ago when blasting took center stage as the controversy du jour in Henderson.

The public outcry from residents after an accident damaged homes near Sunridge Heights and Green Valley parkways led to a tightening of the city's blasting ordinance.

The complaints have died down, although the blasting continues.

Now the conflict may return. Sanders Construction has requested a permit for an additional six months of blasting in the area to make way for a 472-home development.

The company's current permit expires mid-month.