Residents of a sinking, historically black neighborhood in North Las Vegas celebrated a bill passed into law June 16 to help them move to new residences, The Associated Press (AP) reported Wednesday.
Windsor Park, a once segregated neighborhood built between 1964 and 1966 for black people, was built over geological faults and an aquifer that triggered the sinking, according to the bill, titled Senate Bill 450 (S.B. 450). Many residents moved out of the neighborhood with some help from the government in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but some 90 residents were unable to leave, according to the bill.
The bill stipulated that a vacant plot adjacent to the neighborhood be secured and built up so that the remaining residents of Windsor Park can be relocated. The relocation will cost $37 million, with $25 million coming from state COVID relief funds and $12 million from state housing funds, the bill states. (RELATED: Two Utah Homes Slide Off Cliff Into Canyon After Being Deemed Unsafe For Habitation)
Great news SB450 has been signed into law, establishing a program to relocate residents in Windsor Park whose homes have been sinking for years, putting them in danger #SB450 #JusticeForWindsorPark
— Dina Neal (@senator_neal) June 21, 2023
Democratic state Sen. Dina Neal of North Las Vegas, a sponsor of the bill, planned a meeting with the residents Wednesday to celebrate its passage into law by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, according to The AP.
The Nevada Assembly legislature was split along party lines over the bill, with all 14 Republican members opposed and all 28 Democratic members in support, according to the Nevada Legislature records. However, support for the bill in the State Senate was bipartisan and overwhelming, according to the records.
Windsor Park was the subject of an award-winning University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) documentary titled “Windsor Park: The Sinking Streets.”