This story was published in the Sept. 19, 1961, edition of the Lewiston Tribune.

Henry Reno’s proposed plat for Southwest Heights Addition was rejected by the City Council last night after two families voiced objections and Reno said he could not afford to install curbs prior to the sale of lots.

The council acted on a recommendation of the City Planning Commission. It also suggested Reno follow the commission’s suggestion that he submit the plat to the Federal Housing Administration’s planning division for study.

The commission objected to the plat because blocks in it would lave been only the length of the lots. That way both the front and back of each lot would adjoin a street. The plat extends from the south city limits to 26th Ave. from 5th to 7th Sts.

Reno told the council Sept. 5 he might abandon his plan to bring the land into the city if it refused to waive the ordinance requirement that curbs be constructed by the subdivider before the sale of lots. The ordinance annexing the land has been passed by the council but publication was deferred pending a decision on the plat. City Attorney James Givens said he will study the legal status of the ordinance.

Objections to Reno’s waiver request were voiced by Mr. and Mrs. Richard K. Smith, 621 22nd Ave., and Mr. and Mrs. Peter Halgren, 631 22nd Ave. They said it could result in unimproved streets which would add dust to the Reno additions and result in heavier traffic on 7th St. That street is only 22 feet wide and is not adequate for the present traffic, they said. They questioned whether access to the proposed addition would be adequate.

City Engineer Elmer Soniville, in a written report to the council, said street oiling in the 45-lot addition would cost the city some $4,860 over a period of time. He noted Reno had asked for installation of water mains within 60 days. He said the city doesn’t have the necessary pipe and securing it would take about three months. The cost would be about $12,000, Soniville said. He made no recommendation concerning the proposed plat.

Reno had proposed that he grade and gravel streets in the addition and that curbs and sidewalks be installed as houses were built. As an alternative, he proposed last night that he complete curb installation after half the addition had been developed. It would cost some $52,000. That, he continued, would boost the cost of each lot to a prohibitive $1,171.

“I don’t know whether I’m going to sell a single lot,” Reno stated. “There’s a building slump now. I can’t afford to tie up that much money in it.”