Winchester advisory board votes 3-2 to recommend denial of homeownerwaiver for addition, hardscape

The Winchester Town Advisory Board on Jan. 28 voted 3-2 to recommend denial of an application by the Angeles Del Mar Trust for multiple waivers tied to a home addition and increased hardscape at a property on Vegas Valley Drive.

The vote follows statements from county staff that the submission does not meet county code and a staff recommendation for denial. A staff member told the board the application raised fire-safety concerns because a shed sits close to the house and said the amount of new concrete contributes to a "heat island" effect. The board's recommendation is advisory; the Clark County Planning Commission will make the final decision at a Feb. 18 hearing.

Applicant Yerpeni Marin told the board the work began because the family needs additional interior space to accommodate a household member who works from home and said the addition is nearly complete. Marin said the family did not realize a permit was required and that code enforcement consolidated several unpermitted changes into a single application. Marin asked the board for support to finish the project and described the change as necessary to adapt to "new living style[s]" such as working from home.

Neighbors and board members raised questions about unpermitted work. A board member and other speakers asked whether contractors are licensed and whether permits were pulled; Marin said the work was done with the help of acquaintances who perform construction and that the project is paused pending approvals. Staff clarified that zoning approval is the first step and that building-department and fire inspections and permits would still be required if the zoning waiver were granted.

County staff outlined three principal objections in the staff report: the shed's proximity to the primary structure (a separation/setback issue that could pose fire-safety problems), the extent of hardscape coverage exceeding county limits, and the site being in a high-heat-vulnerability area where additional concrete raises heat concerns. Staff also said the application appears to have resulted from a code-enforcement complaint about unpermitted work.

Board discussion included clarifying that the current county standard limits the percentage of a front-yard area that can be covered by impermeable materials and that anything beyond that threshold requires a waiver. The applicant and several speakers said drought and water-conservation efforts have led many homeowners to replace grass with rock or other nonvegetative coverings, and the applicant argued that much of the neighborhood already exceeds the county's hardscape limit.

At the end of the item the advisory board took a roll-call vote on a motion to deny the waivers. The board voted 3 in favor of denial and 2 opposed; the advisory board's recommendation will be included in the planning commission packet for the Feb. 18 hearing. Marin was told that even if the planning commission approves zoning waivers, separate building and fire permits (and inspections) remain required.

The planning commission hearing is scheduled for 2025-02-18. The applicant said the structure is largely finished and that completing interior finishes would take roughly a week to 10 days if allowed to resume work, but the applicant also said they would comply with any building-department or fire-related corrections required after zoning approval.