City Council moves to continue appeal

Canyons developer, neighbors asked to work out differences

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The Henderson City Council voted March 6 to continue an appeal that would allow the addition of 15 more homes to a multi-million dollar custom home community in MacDonald Ranch.

Several residents from surrounding neighborhoods within MacDonald Ranch turned out to voice their opposition to the appeal for the Canyons at MacDonald Ranch, citing reasons of increased traffic, a decrease in property values and aesthetic appeal.

"We're hoping what they (the developers) can do is present us with something that will eliminate our fears and give us some guarantees," said Nicole McGeary, the homeowners association president for Sunridge Summit Estates.

Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson moved to continue the item to April 17 and told the developers to meet with the neighbors to present a different solution.

"We really need to put this behind us," Gibson said at the meeting.

According to Paul Bykowski, the vice president of land development at MacDonald Highlands, units were subtracted from one parcel and were not immediately added to Parcel G, where the Canyons will be built. In the original language, units could not be added to Parcel G because it is located in the McCullough Mountains near a sensitive ridgeline.

A sensitive ridgeline is defined as an area where the houses would silhouette the skyline and obstruct the line of the mountains.

"Although it was called a sensitive ridgeline, it doesn't meet the actual definition of what the ridgeline is, since the ridge doesn't come to a point," Bykowski said.

Several council members said at the meeting that on further examination, Parcel G was not located at a sensitive ridgeline.

"We really have a sensitive ridgeline defined where a sensitive ridgeline does not exist," Councilman Steven Kirk said at the meeting.

Eric Blumensaadt, the Sierra Club of Southern Nevada conservation co-chairman and a Sunridge Heights resident, read a letter to the council at the meeting. In it, he praised the city for choosing to "put the aesthetic and environmental conditions ahead of urban sprawl."

"To waive the City Hillside Ordinance tonight would be to set a precedent that will make each succeeding applicant for a waiver more difficult to refuse," he read.

Blumensaadt also said he was concerned about the possibility of landslides or seismic events as a result of building on the ridgeline.

Bykowski said he did not believe that the development would lead to decreased property values because of the nature of the homes being built on Parcel G of the Canyons.

"In the end, it's going to be a win-win. I don't see any multi-million dollar custom homes damaging property values," he said.

Bykowski also said that the neighbors did not need to be concerned about increased traffic on the road leading up the mountain.

"On the actual road, the nearest point was 600-something feet to the nearest residence," Bykowski said. "As Councilman (Steven) Kirk said, that's over a football field away from somebody."

McGeary said she was concerned that the road leading up to the Canyons would be on steep terrain.

"We had some safety issues," she said. "The hill looks directly into a lot of our neighbors' properties."

Many of the residents and council members at the March 6 meeting had misgivings about a possible retaining wall that would surround the Canyons as a result of the sensitive ridgeline ordinance.

"I don't want my name on those retaining walls," Councilman Jack Clark said.

McGeary said she would need to see more representations of what a stone wall would look like before she could decide whether it would be visually appealing.

"There are people who can see this ridgeline and have some claim to it. We want something that flows well with the lay of the land and that isn't going to be offensive," she said.

Sunridge Heights homeowners association President Bobby Loose said he did not think the council should change its mind about the sensitive ridgeline ordinance.

"If you got a rule, you should follow it, as far as I'm concerned. There just seems to be a lot of favors. (The council) is doing whatever they could to get the parcel owner do what they want to do," Loose said.

Loose said he wants construction in MacDonald Ranch to finish without further delays. Because of the construction, including the blasting that has occurred in the area, Loose said he has been unable to build a pool in his backyard.

"Get this done so we can start living," he said. "You're going to build. Build on what it's zoned for, and build on what the rules are."

Overall, McGeary said she is concerned that the developer did not provide her neighbors with enough information about the effects of the Canyons. She said a neighborhood meeting was held one week before the initial planning commission agenda item.

She said she and her neighbors have had problems with another developer, D.R. Horton, in the past.

"What we're looking for is to work with whatever developer comes in and to make them happy and us happy. We can't necessarily take the word of the developer," she said.

Bykowski said the developers tried to provide the neighbors with information.

"Working is a two-way street. They kept asking for things with no support," he said.

Bykowski said he was satisfied with the council's decision to continue the item.

"I was glad they sent us back to the drawing board," Bykowski said. "We're going to put together some of the view pictures and design features they wanted. Hopefully, the neighbors will work with us to get to a plan that makes them happy."

McGeary said the neighbors are not trying to stop the houses from being built, but they want to be able to work with the developers to come up with a mutually beneficial situation.

"We encourage development. Development and the growth of Henderson is vital to the future of Henderson. We want to see people like these developers prosper," she said.