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Henderson council overturns planning commission on Traneer street waiver after heated safety debate
Summary
Facing dozens of residents’ pleas, the City Council granted a waiver for a five‑lot tentative map on Traneer Drive but directed staff to seek a gated secondary access or other property‑level solutions with the adjacent church within 60 days; if unavailable, the city will pursue traffic calming measures.
The Henderson City Council on Tuesday overturned a planning commission denial and approved a tentative map and waiver allowing a five‑lot subdivision on a parcel near Traneer Drive, while directing staff to negotiate with adjacent property owners — including a nearby church — about a gated secondary access or alternative cul‑de‑sac arrangement.
Mayor Romero moved to overturn the commission’s denial and to direct staff to work with the church and other property owners for up to 60 days to determine whether a crash gate or other access arrangement could be obtained and who would bear acquisition and maintenance responsibilities; the council voted to approve the motion with Councilwoman Cox the lone dissent. The motion included fallback direction that, if private property options are not secured, staff will return with proposed traffic‑calming measures for both Traneer and Patty Ann Woods.
The hour‑plus public hearing attracted dozens of neighbors. Opponents said opening Traneer to through traffic would turn a narrow, rural street used by children and walkers into a cut‑through for hundreds of additional daily vehicles. “If you connect Traneer to College, then you will add between 500 to 1,000 cars to Traneer every day,” said resident Ryan Reeves, the appellant. Residents cited speeding, lack of sidewalks, and past fatal crashes on similar local streets as reasons to deny the connection.
Supporters of the project, including some nearby homeowners, urged the council to allow development to proceed and argued that spread‑out traffic would not increase overall trip generation. Public Works Director Lance Olson said the city has studied Patty Ann Woods and plans traffic calming (chicanes and other measures) that could be deployed in six to nine months. Fire officials told the council they are seeking reliable secondary access because fire code requires two access points for long roads and because a blocked single access could prevent emergency response.
City staff and the city attorney emphasized a practical constraint: the developer controls only its parcels and cannot be required to acquire private rights from third parties. The council’s compromise was to approve the waiver and give staff a short window to pursue a negotiated property solution, with city resources to be considered for acquisition or construction if feasible; if the negotiations fail, the approved map would proceed and staff would implement traffic‑calming and pedestrian protections.
The council’s action approves the tentative map and waiver as presented, but the final on‑the‑ground outcome will depend on staff’s discussions with the church and property owners and on follow‑up design work and conditions the council may adopt based on those results.
