LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Las Vegas church’s members said the hundreds of illegally parked cars happen once a year, but lifelong neighbors disagree and are alarmed about a county vote on the property’s expansion.
The Hamere Noah Kidane Mihret & Saint Michael Ethiopian Orthodox Church held a morning holiday ceremony, which neighbors say brought over 600 cars, most parked illegally amid county “no parking” signs.
Neighbors called 8 News Now to see the parking, which covered over a mile, blocking all of S. Lindell Road to W. Russell Road. One member said the parking was illegal according to the signs, but not an issue because the county was not enforcing the “no parking” rules.
A Las Vegas church’s members said the hundreds of illegally parked cars happen once a year, but lifelong neighbors disagree and are alarmed about a county vote on the property’s expansion. (KLAS)
“We respect and appreciate the diversity in our neighborhood,” Daria Wu, a neighbor, said. “However, it seems that the congregation might have outgrown the infrastructure that our neighbor can support.”
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Wu and a group of her neighbors gathered to point out the issues they’ve faced during the church’s service: a spike in speeding cars, running of stop signs, and illegally parked cars.
“It’s not great to sometimes have your driveway blocked by someone’s car,” she said.
A Las Vegas church’s members said the hundreds of illegally parked cars happen once a year, but lifelong neighbors disagree and are alarmed about a county vote on the property’s expansion. (KLAS)
The neighbors said they reached out to County Commissioner Michael Naft and used the Fixit app as they were told, but nothing has changed in the past few years.
“We document that and we provide that proof, and we have found that there’s no follow-up,” Wu said.
A church elder told 8 News Now a lawyer would call back the television station before the deadline, but no call was returned. 8 News Now asked for a spokesperson or leader from inside the church, but was told no one was available and to call their number, which was called with no response. An email was also sent to the church with no response.
The church is currently awaiting approval for an expansion from the Clark County Board of Commissioners on land they own.
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“We’d like the evaluation of the potential expansion, which also includes a commercial kitchen, to truly be considered, how that would impact our neighborhood,” Wu said. “And again, this expectation of an [rural preservation neighborhood] as well.”
Further into the stream of illegally parked cars is the home for Peter and Carol Sidlow, who are 30-year residents of the neighborhood. When the church opened around 2012, Carol and some other neighbors walked a gift basket over to welcome the congregation to the area.
“We brought flowers, we brought gifts to them and stayed a little while,” Carol said. “But we welcomed them because it’s the thing to do.”
Carol and Peter say the problems with the parking started almost immediately as the church’s congregation began to grow, parking on people’s lawns and driveways.
Further into the stream of illegally parked cars is the home for Peter and Carol Sidlow, who are 30-year residents of the neighborhood. (KLAS)
“They’re entitled to be there, but they do have certain rules,” Peter said. “I believe that they’re supposed to adhere to, but they don’t seem to do that.”
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The Clark County Commission is expected to vote on the church’s expansion next month.
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