Council hopes for serenity

A compromise settles the question of commercial development in one of Henderson's few remaining sparsely populated communities, but it's not quieting all of the critics.

Ken Freeman, a 25-year resident of what is now Serene Country Estates, says the compromise among residents, city officials and developers leaves him in a can't-win position.

Serene Avenue, between Eastern Avenue and Pecos Road, used to be just that. But rapid growth in the once-rural area has turned it into a heavily traveled roadway for nearby residents.

Freeman says he won't want to live in his house once Serene Avenue is crawling with even more traffic. But he says he won't be able to sell it either because it won't be suitable for residential use and the compromise rules out selling property on his block to a commercial enterprise.

The compromise, which has been approved by the City Council, was reached as part of a special plan for the area designed to end years of conflicts between developers and residents on the area's use.

In the plan's final wording, residents agreed to drop restrictions on the types of businesses allowed in certain areas in return for restricting other incompatible uses.

"The neighborhood essentially focused more on their real heartfelt concerns about uses that they didn't want there, and we just deleted the restrictions they didn't feel very strongly about," said Bob Wilson, a principal planner with the city's Community Development Department.

Restricted uses in the area would include 24-hour businesses such as taverns, liquor stores, and convenience stores. Also prohibited would be auto repair businesses, according to Wilson.

Although inevitable, Freeman bemoans the growth that made the plan necessary.

"When I moved out here 25 years ago, I was the first one out here," Freeman said. "Whenever a car came down my street, Serene, I knew it was somebody coming to visit me.

"It's really different than it was even 10 years ago with all the traffic, and five years from now it will be unlivable on Serene. There is going to be a casino at the end of Serene near Pecos, and it will be just like Eastern in five years."

Freeman said that one draft of the plan contained an option to rezone all of Serene for commercial office buildings. That would have allowed him to sell his home to commercial developers. But that option was not part of the final compromise.

The Henderson City Council on Jan. 4 decided to keep Serene residential.

"I don't understand how the city could do that," he said. "I'll never be able to sell my home as residential because my home faces Serene, and I don't want to live here once all the traffic comes through."

While the City Council's ruling on Serene was a blow to Freeman and others like him who wanted to move from the area, it was a cause for celebration for a group of his neighbors, also known as part of the Rock Pile Alliance.

The group consists mostly of residents who spent months working with city planners, other residents and developers to work out development guidelines to preserve their neighborhood.

"Many of us have built nice homes in the area and we are asking to be allowed to live in a rural setting," Cecilia Nowak said. "We are happy with the City Council's decision, and the developers got what they wanted, too, with the changes in land-use designations."

The neighborhood plan includes close to 293 acres, most of which is located between Eastern Avenue and Pecos Road. There are about 245 residential parcels in the area and 131 homes. Of those, 112 are in Henderson, the rest in unincorporated Clark County.

Most residents attending the Jan. 4 City Council meeting applauded the decision.

"I live on the north side on Serene, and we already have cars speeding through there," Kimberly Swartzlander said. "I want to raise my daughter in a residential area. Serene has to be left residential."

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