Las Vegas — The Clark County zoning panel on July 16 approved a waiver allowing a developer of a supportive-housing project on Nellis Boulevard to install a solid block wall on the property27s east boundary instead of the originally required 8-foot wrought-iron fence. The change was requested by the applicant to provide a more secure edge facing an adjacent wash and nearby businesses.

Neighbors and a neighborhood-watch volunteer urged commissioners to require an 8-foot masonry wall rather than a 6-foot block wall proposed by the applicant, saying a taller, solid barrier would help deter trespassing and theft. "There's a wash back here, a gigantic wash ... a lot of the homeless are coming through, walking right through here," said Al Rojas, who said he coordinates a neighborhood watch in Sunrise Manor. "I would recommend a brick wall with ... 8 feet."

Jennifer Laszovich, representing the applicant Ovation, said the east boundary had been proposed to include a 6-foot block wall but noted the project already planned an 8-foot block on the north boundary at the request of an adjacent commercial property owner. "At your discretion, if you would like to make this piece 8 feet, I think ..." Laszovich told commissioners, referring to matching the north wall's height.

Nut graf: The waiver removes a design-condition that required wrought-iron fencing on the east side of a new multifamily supportive-housing site, replacing it with a block wall; neighbors argued that a higher, solid wall is necessary because the site backs to a wash and commercial properties that have experienced theft and loitering.

County staff had recommended approval of the change subject to conditions included with the project. Commissioners approved the waiver in a single vote; the record shows no roll-call of individual votes. The applicant and neighbors also discussed patrols and coordination with neighborhood-watch volunteers once the project is complete.

Commissioner comments praised the project broadly for its partnership with local service providers. Public commenters and a developer representative also discussed ancillary site features such as landscape buffering and vehicular circulation.

Ending: The waiver clears one regulatory hurdle for the Ovation supportive-housing project to proceed; commissioners and the applicant discussed making the east wall 8 feet to match adjacent improvements but the final approved condition records the waiver rather than a mandatory change to 8 feet.