February Las Vegas National Golf Social

Paradise Palms Becomes Clark County’s First Historic Neighborhood

The Newly Adopted Paradise Palms Historic Neighborhood Overlay

On Wednesday, February 8, 2017 the Clark County Commission unanimously voted to establish Paradise Palms as the first historic neighborhood in unincorporated Clark County. Taking advantage of the County’s Historic Neighborhood Overlay Ordinance which was adopted in November 2011, the Paradise Palms Historic Neighborhood Overlay District was adopted as a zone-change and affects just over 200 homes within the original portion of the community. 

Nevada Preservation Foundation Associate Director, Michelle Larime presents on behalf of Paradise Palms

Paradise Palms resident Berta Papp speaks in support of the request

Michelle Larime and Paradise Palms resident Dave Cornoyer speak on behalf of the neighborhood

County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani praised the community for its efforts and persistence in reaching this milestone, while each Commissioner weighed in on this historic precedent offering advice and suggestions for the community moving forward. Commissioner Giunchigliani made a motion for approval of the zone change request, and was unanimously supported by all members of the Commission. This new Historic Neighbohood Overlay only applies to a portion of our community at this point, roughly bounded by Desert Inn Road to the north, Spencer Street/Seneca Drive to the east, Commanche Drive to the south, and Oneida/Nakona to the west. Future expansions are planned. 

Commission Giunchiglianai discusses the historic neighborhood overlay ordinance

Unanimous vote for approval 

Approximately two years after the ordinance was adopted, Paradise Palms began working with the Nevada Preservation Foundation (NPF) in early 2014 to obtain assistance and guidance in navigating the Historic Designation process. While there are approximately 1,000 homes within Paradise Palms, reaching consensus with that amount of property owners would prove difficult, and the community was advised to begin seeking Historic Designation in smaller sections to ease the process. After review, it was determined that the oldest portions of the neighborhood would make the most sense to start with for the Historic Designation process.

Newly created Paradise Palms Historic Neighborhood Overlay 

NPF worked with Paradise Palms to organize numerous community meetings, send out mailings and arrange for neighborhood canvasses within the approximate 200-home area. They held several successful fundraisers and solicited donations on the community’s behalf so that we could reach this point. With NPF’s help, there were countless numbers of volunteers who assisted, supported and led to this preservation effort.

Portion of Paradise Palms which will be polled next for inclusion within the Paradise Palms Historic Neighborhood Overlay

With the overwhelming support that this portion of the community received for recognition as a Historic Neighborhood, NPF and Paradise Palms will build on this momentum and begin polling the residents to the east of this area, roughly bounded by Desert Inn Road to the north, Eastern Avenue to the east, Viking Road to the south, and Spencer Street to the west to determine interest in receiving Historic Neighborhood status. Kicking off this event will be a Preserving Paradise Palms cocktail fundraiser on Friday, April 28^th at the Historic Westside School. More details can be found by visiting NPF’s Home & History webpage here. 

We're excited to have reached this historic milestone and proud to have become the first neighborhood in unincorporated Clark County to receive this honor. Thank you everyone for your support. 

February Paradise Palms Social Club 6th Anniversary Party

January Las Vegas National Golf Social

Paradise Town Board Unanimously Recommends Approval of Paradise Palms I Historic Neighborhood Overlay Bid

Proposed Historic Neighborhood Overlay

The Paradise Town Board unanimously recommended approval of the Paradise Palms I bid to become the first neighborhood within unincorporated Clark County to apply for the Historic Neighborhood Overlay designation.  A presentation was made by the Michelle Larime of the Nevada Preservation Foundation highlighting the history, significance and unique architecture that sets Paradise Palms above the rest. Paradise Town Board Members Jon Wardlaw, John Williams, Robert Orgill, Bart Donovan and Chair Susan Phillip all recognized the commitment and time that has been invested in this process, and complimented the willingness and desire of the community to be the first in the County to commit to historic preservation. The Town Board voted 5-0 to recommend approval to the Board of Clark County Commissioners, with the final step in the journey being final approval at the February 8^th Clark County Board of Commissioners meeting.

Paradise Palms homeowners (L to R) Kara Balduzzi, Korey Replogle, Ed Uehling, Dave Cornoyer, Clair Canup, Jeremy Kip, Tommy Papagna and Brady Curtright at the Paradise Town Board Meeting 

The Nevada Preservation Foundation (NPF) has done a wonderful job getting us to this point; their assistance has been greatly appreciated. For more information, please visit NPW’s website at www.npf.org.  

Left to right: Paradise Palms resident and former NPF Board Member Clair Canup, Paradise Palms resident Dave Cornoyer and NPF Associate Director Michelle Larime celebrate a unanimous Historic Neighborhood Overlay recommendation for approval at Paradise Town Board

From the Nevada Preservation Foundation Website:

The Nevada Preservation Foundation was hired by the Paradise Palms Neighborhood Organization to gain a local listing as a historic neighborhood with Clark County.  The entire Paradise Palms residential development is made up of approximately 1,000 homes and is located both north and south of Desert Inn Road between Maryland Parkway and Eastern Ave. In order to make this project more manageable, the development has been divided into different areas, determined by historic features and boundaries that provide a logical way in which to divide the subdivision. Over the next several years, we will be moving through each area one by one, and work with the neighborhood to give each of these areas the opportunity to be named a Historic Neighborhood.

The first area, identified as Paradise Palms I is loosely bounded by Desert Inn Road to the north, Commanche Drive to the south, Spencer Street and Seneca Drive to the east, and Oneida Way to the west. It encompasses Units 1 and 2, parts of Units 3 and 5, and Unit 9. Over the past two years, we have worked with the neighborhood residents, primarily in collecting the 51% of signed support that is needed to submit the application to the Clark County Planning Department. These outreach efforts have included public neighborhood meetings, informational mailings, and door to door canvases to answer questions and meet face to face with many of the residents living inside the proposed boundaries.

The 51% of signed support goal was reached in May of 2016 and we are now working diligently on the application for creating a historic overlay for the proposed district with Clark County. The application is due to be submitted before the end of 2016, and pending the approval votes needed by two governing boards in Clark County, we are well on our way to getting Paradise Palms I listed as the first historic neighborhood in Clark County!