Pittman Wash neighbors displeased about removed vegetation
Dozens of concerned Pittman Wash neighbors and Henderson staffers searched for a “happy medium” at a meeting at Silver Springs Recreation Center about the removal of vegetation in the wash between Pecos Road and Green Valley Parkway.
Ed McGuire, the city’s director of Public Works, told attendees at the April 3 meeting that the city removed the vegetation after a few residents in the nearby La Mancha neighborhood complained that the overgrowth “looked like a fire hazard.”
While inspecting the complaint, the city noticed vegetation was growing in gabions in and around the wash, McGuire said. Gabions are wire containers filled with rock that are used to stabilize the bed of the wash and the bank.
He acknowledged the city gave Project Green: Friends of Pittman Wash short notice of the work.
Susan Ritter, vice president of Project Green: Friends of Pittman Wash, said she wouldn’t have minded the removal of some trees from the gabions, but the city “took everything out.”
La Mancha and Ocotillo Pointe residents at the meeting said their homeowners associations did not know about the work until shortly before it began. McGuire acknowledged the lack of communication.
“We clearly learned that lesson,” he said.
He said the city tries to get maintenance done in the wash before March because birds nest in it from March to September.
Henderson Fire Chief Shawn White told residents that some areas of the wash had indeed posed a fire hazard.
“What can we make sure we can leave some vegetation there and at the same time to maintain some safety?” he said of the city’s dilemma.
McGuire assured meeting attendees that Public Works will notify Project Green: Friends of Pittman Wash and the subdivisions in the future.
Ritter told the Review-Journal on April 4 that all the organization wants is better communication.
McGuire told the Review-Journal that a follow-up meeting is in the works that will involve homeowners associations, subdivision representatives and representatives with the city. A date has not been set.
Contact Rachel Spacek at 702-387-2921 or rspacek@reviewjournal.com. Follow @RachelSpacek on Twitter.
About the group
The nonprofit Project Green: Friends of Pittman Wash is dedicated to preserving and protecting wildlife in the Pittman Wash between Pecos Road and Arroyo Grande Boulevard, according to its website. The group was awarded a grant to assist with its mission from the state in 2002. The group's volunteers conduct walks and educational events, as well as cleanup days. For more information, see its website or Facebook page.
City mission
A draft of the Pittman Wash Management Criteria on the city of Henderson's website says Public Works will reduce fire hazards by controlling "the density of vegetation in the wash." The plan also states the city will eliminate "woody vegetation from engineered linings" and "control height and density of vegetation within flow area."
