Henderson City Council rejects proposed assisted living facility

A Canadian man must find another location to build a home for Alzheimer’s patients.

At its Tuesday night meeting, the Henderson City Council unanimously rejected a proposal by Daniel Boucher to construct an assisted group living facility in a rural southeast neighborhood.

“Even if it looks like a home and even if it feels like a home, it isn’t,” Councilman John Marz said.

On Dec. 12, the Planning Commission denied a conditional use permit and design review for the proposed facility, which would have been located at the northwest corner of College Drive and Patti Ann Woods Drive, across from Mission Hills Park.

Commissioners rejected the project after concluding that the proposed use was not compatible with the neighborhood. Neighbors also opposed the project.

Scott Ramer, president of the Mission Hills/Paradise Rural Alliance, said the neighborhood is one of only a couple in the community designated as a rural preservation area. He said residents feared the approval of a commercial project would set a precedent for future applicants.

The proposed 9,940-square-foot, single-story facility would have included 14 bedrooms for Alzheimer’s patients.

In Boucher’s written appeal of the Planning Commission’s decision, he indicated he wanted to show that the project, named Vivaldi Residences, is a fitting addition to the rural neighborhood.

Boucher told the Review-Journal that he and his wife, Carmen, developed “the Vivaldi approach” after founding the original Vivaldi Residences in Quebec.

“It’s re-creating a home-like environment for people with Alzheimer’s,” Boucher said.

He and his wife sold the Quebec facility about a year ago and moved to Henderson.

After Tuesday’s meeting, Boucher said he will look for another location for the new facility — not necessarily in Henderson.

“I guess we’ll have to go where we’re welcome,” he said.

Zone changes that will permit construction of two other projects on Patti Ann Woods Drive were approved Tuesday.

D.R. Horton plans to build two single-family subdivisions on the street. The home builder needed the zone changes to reduce the required minimum lot size of 40,000 square feet to about 34,100 square feet. The zoning classification remains low-density residential.

For one subdivision, the applicant plans to develop 15 lots on 15 acres on both sides of Patti Ann Woods Drive, about 1,600 feet west of College Drive. For the other, the applicant plans to develop five lots on 5 acres on the south side of Patti Ann Woods Drive, about 1,280 feet west of College Drive.

WATER STREET IMPROVEMENTS ADVANCE

Approval of a $2.1 million construction contract Tuesday means improvements to Water Street will continue this year in Henderson.

The City Council awarded the contract to Aggregate Industries SWR Inc. of North Las Vegas as part of the Water Street Enhancement Project.

City Manager Jacob Snow said the new phase of the project will extend improvements from Lake Mead Parkway to Boulder Highway.

“That does help to define the gateway to the Water Street corridor,” he said.

Snow also said the soon-to-be enhanced section will connect the future Cadence development to the commercial corridor of Water Street.

That corridor, from Ocean Avenue to Lake Mead Parkway, was reconfigured through a series of construction projects that ended in the fall of 2011.

City spokesman Bud Cranor said the new project will involve repaving Water Street between Lake Mead Parkway and Boulder Highway, adding landscaping and medians, and creating a pedestrian crossing to and from the Gibson Library.

Cranor said the project also will involve constructing an asphalt trail for pedestrians and cyclists on the west side of Water Street that will connect with the existing trail system on Boulder Highway.

The changes will make the section of Water Street between Lake Mead Parkway and Boulder Highway “much more pedestrian-friendly and aesthetically pleasing,” the spokesman said.

Federal funds will pay for most of the project. About $83,000 will come from Regional Transportation Commission funds.

Cranor said the work should be finished by the end of the year. Aggregate Industries was the lowest of seven bidders for the project.

PAY ANALYSIS FUNDED

Also Tuesday, the council approved $97,500 in funding for a custom survey and competitive pay assessment for the city’s nonrepresented employees.

“It hasn’t been done for 13 years, so it is overdue,” Snow said.

He said the analysis will involve comparing 150 benchmark positions with their equivalents in other cities, government organizations, nonprofit agencies and private corporations.

Cranor said the city plans to conduct such surveys on a regular basis in the future “to make sure that the compensation for employees is in line with market conditions.”

In October, the city entered into a $20,000 agreement with Sibson Consulting, a division of Segal, for compensation consulting services. The consultant already has developed a new compensation philosophy for the city.

The additional funding approved Tuesday brings the total cost of the agreement to $117,500. Snow said he expects the survey to be completed within the next months.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710. Follow @CarriGeer on Twitter.