Commission OKs industrial subdivision

     By Sean DeFrank
     View staff writer
      The Henderson Planning Commission approved an industrial subdivision adjacent to Calico Ridge at its Feb. 11 meeting, which essentially ended months of negotiation between developers and area residents.
      The commission voted 3-1 for the project, which consists of seven lots on 20.5 acres at the northeast corner of Eagle Rock Road and Nancy Jay Street. Commissioner Kenneth Lamb voted against the application, while Commissioner George Bochanis abstained from voting on the item and commissioners JoAnn Huffaker and Danny Sanders were absent from the meeting.
      Since negotiations between Eagle Rock Investments LLC, which owns the industrial property, and Calico Ridge homeowners have persisted for months regarding the terms of the project, the commission's ruling came as abrupt news to Bob Reynolds, president of the Calico Ridge Owners Association.
      "We believed (negotiations were) still going on as we speak," Reynolds said. "No one notified me that it had ended É What we got was what the city's first, last and final proposal was. I guess it's over. I always thought when something ended, you would notify the parties that it's over. They didn't see fit to do that, although they've had ample opportunities."
      Assistant City Attorney Liza Conroy advised the commission and Calico Ridge residents at the meeting that the city abandoned hopes of mediating an agreement between the two parties because of entrenched positions on each side and because the project has to move forward because of financial repercussions.
      "We are at a point where it does not appear that there will ever be a final agreement with all of the parties because of positions," Conroy said. "The discussion has been so extensive that all of the parties understand what everyone else's position is. And there's a point where there isn't going to be anymore movement on a voluntary basis. And that appears to be where this mediation is at this time. É It is the city's position that everything possible through the mediation has occurred and it is time for the Planning Commission and (City) Council to look at this project and make a decision about the application."
      The City Council is scheduled to vote on the item at its March 2 meeting. Reynolds said he would address the council at that time to attempt to overturn the commission's decision. While commissioners Guy Van Wyck, Dale Lay and Russell Wheeler all backed the industrial development, Lamb sided with the Calico Ridge residents.
      "The residential uses are encroaching on the industrial on both sides," Lamb said. "In essence, they are choking the industrial use out. É I would like to maintain the residential character of the neighborhood."
      The land in question is just part of 62 acres located to the west of Calico Ridge that has been zoned for industrial uses since 1985, prior to the advent of Calico Ridge. The residents of Calico Ridge, which now consists of about 400 upscale homes, are upset because the city allowed conflicting residential and industrial properties to abut each other, creating the situation which now exists.
      The commission limited the height of buildings on the industrial property to 35 feet and established a 50-foot setback from the existing homes, 20 more feet than prescribed by code. City staff recommended the project be submitted as a planned unit development (PUD) and tentative map since the applicant cannot commit to what the final product will encompass.
      Because of the nature of the neighbors' concerns, the city recommended that a PUD is the best way to protect the residents. A PUD can regulate and protect neighboring residential properties more effectively than standard zoning ordinance requirements by including more restrictive standards.
      By agreeing to the more stringent guidelines, the applicant has consented to greater setbacks, enhanced landscaping buffers, reduced building height and restricted uses. Marlene Micheals, representing Eagle Rock Investments, said any more concessions by the developer would render the property virtually useless. She accused the residents of being unwavering in their stance.
      "They want me to keep giving, but they're not willing to give anything of themselves," Micheals said. "I'm not sure that there's anything that is going to make the residents happy. É If we give any more, we'll have a piece of property that we can no longer sell."
      In other business, the Planning Commission:
      Approved a request for an extension of time to Feb. 4, 2000 for a zone change from an urban reserve district to a tourist commercial with gaming enterprise overlay district on 50.7 acres, located southeast of Gibson Road and southwest of Boulder Highway.
      Approved a petition to vacate a 20-foot public utility easement in the Foothills/Boulder commercial subdivision located at the northeast corner of Boulder Highway and Wagon Wheel Drive.
      Approved a request to amend the Master Streets and Highways Plan to reduce Stephanie Street from a 100-foot right-of-way primary arterial to an 80-foot right-of-way secondary arterial from Amador Road south to the entrance of the Foothills Master Plan.
      Denied a request to reduce the required separation between a principal structure and an accessory structure to seven feet, where 10 feet is required, at 1257 Rising Cloud Circle.
      Approved a request to amend the Land Use Policy Plan from low-density residential to public/semipublic and neighborhood commercial, a review of a zone change request from a single-family residential district to public/semipublic and neighborhood commercial districts, a review of a commercial subdivision consisting of three lots on 10 acres and a request for a skilled nursing facility and emergency health care facility at 1203 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway.
      Continued to March 11 a review of a residential subdivision consisting of 31 lots on 19.9 acres with a density of 1.6 dwelling units per acre, a review of a residential subdivision consisting of five lots on 3.6 acres with a density of 1.4 dwelling units per acre and a review of a residential subdivision consisting of 17 lots on 11.2 acres with a density of 1.5 units per acre, located south of Horizon Ridge Parkway between Stephanie Street and Gibson Road.
      Approved a review of a residential subdivision consisting of 184 units on 13 acres, with a density of 14 dwelling units per acre, located at Major Avenue and Coronado Street.
      Approved a request for an upgrade of an existing transmission line and for future upgrades of four circuits with a maximum of 230 kilovolts at 1335 E. Lake Mead Drive.
      Continued to March 11 a request to amend the Land Use Policy Plan from low-density residential to high-density residential and a review of a zone change request from a single-family residential district to a multi-family residential district on 15.5 acres, located east of Stephanie Street between Horizon Ridge and Paseo Verde parkways.
      Approved a variance to allow the continued use of an existing 392-square-foot Class II sign at 1598 E. Lake Mead Drive.
      Approved a request for a day-care facility and a review of a proposed day-care facility on one acre at 51 Office Park Drive.
      Passed on to City Council without recommendation a request to operate a screen to produce construction materials at 1821 E. Lake Mead Drive.
      Approved a review of a residential subdivision to revise the site plan for a for-sale condominium project consisting of 384 units on 24.5 acres, with a density of 15.7 dwelling units per acre, located at Valley Vista Street and Horizon Ridge Parkway.
      Approved a request to reduce the required 20-foot front-yard setback to 13 feet at 3192 Baffetto Court.
      All relevant approved or appealed items will be forwarded to the Henderson City Council meeting on March 2 at 7 p.m.