Summerlin homeowners will ask City Council to change owners' deal

A group of Summerlin homeowners plans to ask the Las Vegas City Council Monday to change its nine-year-old agreement with the owners of the master-planned community.

According to Eileen Krellenstein, one of the group's leaders, the Howard Hughes Corp., the developer and owner of the community located in the city's northwest, is violating state and federal laws.

The homeowners will present their request to the City Council meeting at 3:45 p.m. at City Hall chambers.

Krellenstein alleges that the corporation intentionally did not properly disclose to homebuyers the casino and high-density developments planned for Summerlin.

Not only did Summerlin not disclose the planned development projects in the homebuying materials, she said, the corporation has an agreement with the city making it impossible to change the zoning within the community.

"It's taxation without representation," she said.

Krellenstein recently organized a meeting with Summerlin homeowners and several state and local politicians. There politicians explained to the homeowners that because of Summerlin's agreement with the city, there's nothing that can be done about the planned projects. If the Hughes Corp. did break the law by not disclosing projects to residents, Krellenstein's only recourse would be to file a lawsuit.

Mark Brown, vice president of Hughes Corp., said that Summerlin has never broken the law.

"We have yet to have any concrete evidence that we've broken the law," Brown said. "In many cases we surpass what is legally required."

Brown said that none of the residents have attempted to contact him, or anyone else in the corporation, to discuss their concerns about the city's agreement with the corporation.

"We would be more than happy to sit down with any of them," Brown said. "This is a beneficial document for the city and taxpayers."

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