Open House Kicks Off Year-Long Process

Residents, builders and business operators interested in the future of the town of Whitney are invited to attend an open house Wednesday, Sept. 6, to discuss the area’s land use plan update.  This plan is important because it is used to guide growth in the town’s neighborhoods. 

Whitney is bordered by Tropicana on the north and Hacienda on the south along Boulder Highway .

The Whitney open house is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Whitney Community Center , 5712 E. Missouri Avenue .  The meeting is being held in the evening to accommodate as many members of the public as possible.  The open house is the first in a series of public meetings in Whitney where county staff will gather comments from residents, business owners and developers about the future of the Whitney land use plan.

Major issues of concern include improving transportation connectivity, identifying transit stations for the MAX bus system expected in 2007, and making Boulder Highway pedestrian friendly with sidewalk installations.  The need for workforce housing and resolving the many nonconforming zone changes are also issues to be discussed.

The update of the Whitney land use plan is the seventh to take place since the County Commission adopted a new ordinance in 2003 to make master plans more reliable.  Spring Valley , Enterprise , Winchester/Paradise and Sunrise Manor land use plan updates have been recently adopted. The land use plan update process takes about 12 months.  The Northeast County land use plan and the Laughlin land use plan are currently in the update process.  Between 2003 and 2007, most of the unincorporated county’s 11 master plans will undergo updates. Citizen participation is considered a crucial link in the process.

At the open house county planners will discuss the update process and how information gathered at public meetings will be worked into the new master plan. Recommendations will be forwarded to the Town Advisory Board, the Planning Commission and eventually the County Commission for adoption of the new plan.

To get more information about the community’s update process, visit Comprehensive Planning’s website at www.accessclarkcounty.com or www.co.clark.nv.us/comprehensive_planning/LUP/Whitney.htm. The department has a map posted online showing the county’s 11 land-use areas and a tentative schedule showing a timetable for updates. To contact planners working on this update, call 455-4314.

The County Commission ’s master plan ordinance of 2003 resulted in a major overhaul of the land use plan update process affecting nonconforming zone changes. Changes include:

• Nonconforming zone change applications cannot be submitted for two years from the date of adoption of a newly adopted land use plan.

• Nonconforming zone changes are batched together and are only considered by the commission quarterly.

• Applicants asking for a nonconforming zone change, host neighborhood meetings with residents. This is meant to encourage developers to resolve neighborhood concerns before the County Commission is asked to consider zone-change requests.

• The public notification distance of proposed nonconforming zone changes is expanded. Proposed zone changes will continue to be announced to residents via mailers and signs posted on affected property.

• Applicants are required to submit more detailed traffic impact reports when requesting a nonconforming zone change. Certified traffic engineers, in particular, will need to conduct traffic studies rather than applicant staff.

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