After an unprecedented, year-long review, a citizens growth task force presented the County Commission on Tuesday a much-anticipated package of six priorities among 21 overall recommendations to deal with the area’s ongoing, record-setting growth.

The 17-member Community Growth Management Task Force presented what officials described as a well-thought-out, meaningful and comprehensive report that provides a roadmap for addressing a variety of complex challenges posed by growth.

The 190-page report, developed after intense public discussion and numerous public hearings, will pave the way for the county to draft policies and procedures so that recommendations may be implemented. The aim, officials said, was to improve the Las Vegas Valley’s quality of life in a systematic and sustainable way.  

The panel’s recommendations identify key areas the community should focus on as Clark County continues to evolve as a major metropolitan area. The top priorities are attainable/affordable housing, mixed-use development, infill development, linking air quality and transportation issues in the land-use planning process, and timing Clark County infrastructure and services to future population projections. Mass transit and other transportation improvements are considered the glue that tie several of the development-related strategies together.  

“The task force has delivered a set of very thoughtful recommendations that emerged from one of the most ambitious public outreach efforts the county has ever engaged in,” said Commission Chairman Rory Reid. “I think this dialogue marks the beginning of a long-term effort to shape the second century of Clark County’s future. The task force did its job in helping us find some common ground in dealing with growth. Now the commission can work to incorporate these recommendations into planning decisions we make today that will lay the foundation for what our community looks like tomorrow.”  

The task force named the affordability of housing in the Las Vegas Valley as the community’s top priority and suggested several possible strategies.  As a result, the county is looking at ways to prepackage available land parcels in the valley for potential development. Officials are working with the state and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to expedite the transfer, zoning and financing of land that can be developed for affordable/attainable housing with the help of public, nonprofit and private builders.  The state Housing Division has proposed acquiring this BLM land and then coordinating a “request for proposals” (RFP) development process with developers. These efforts were backed by the task force. The panel also recommended taking further steps to streamline the development process to encourage the construction of affordable housing and examining community-wide options through the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition (SNRPC).

“I think there’s a need to focus on this issue, and I think the Regional Planning Coalition should be the body to do it,” said Commissioner Lynette Boggs McDonald, who serves on the coalition with

Commissioner Myrna Williams and other elected leaders in the valley. “Affordable housing is not just about having the ability to buy a home. It’s also about being able to rent an apartment, and we’re seeing thousands of apartments being converted into condominiums. If you can’t afford to buy a condominium, you’re going to find it harder to rent an apartment with our decreasing supply.”

Officials say the median income of families in the valley no longer supports the median price of a home. In 2000 the average price of an existing home in the valley was $130,000. Today the approximate price of an existing home is about $251,000. The median price of a new home is about $307,000. The average income of a family of four is $56,500, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Local rental rates also are climbing to a median of $773 a month for one-bedroom apartments, while the supply of rental units is shrinking, officials say.

The Growth Task Force met for the first time on March 30, 2004, as part of the County Commission’s Community Growth Management Initiative. Members of the task force represented a variety of interests, including the environment, development, business, gaming, health, social services and the citizenry.

“Anyone who watched any portion of the Growth Task Force meetings on Clark County Television (CCTV) Channel 4 knows this group had its work cut out for them,” said Commission Vice Chair Williams. “Growth is a complex topic because it affects so many aspects of life in our community, from the economy and housing prices to water, environmental issues and the number of acres of parks we have. The task force sifted through thousands of pages of reports and presentations to forge a consensus, and I think their efforts should be commended.” Over the last year, task force members participated in dozens of meetings and workshops, many of them lasting several hours each. The task force also received input from town boards, and citizen, youth and stakeholder focus groups.

“When we all sat down a year ago, everyone came to the table with different opinions and ideas for dealing with growth,” said former UNLV president Pat Goodall, chairman of the task force. “We had many lively discussions, but over the course of our meetings it became clear that there’s no magic bullet solution. Every action has a reaction. The best approach is a balanced one that takes economic, environmental and quality-of-life factors into consideration. Our goal was to identify a handful of key items that we thought were most important for the community and the commission to focus on.”

The task force report notes that Clark County’s population is expected to grow well into the future, with nine new residents arriving every hour over the last decade.  Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, who serves as chairman of the Southern Nevada Regional Transportation Commission (RTC), supports the task force’s conclusion that transit is a key to planning for the community’s future.  

“From the vision that went into building the beltway to our efforts to improve air quality, which are nationally recognized, our community has done a lot of things right in managing our growth,” Woodbury said. “Our challenge is to stay ahead of the curve, given that we’re expected to add another 1 million people to our population over the next 20 years. Creating transit systems that are easy and desirable to use will go a long way to ensuring our quality of life for future generations.”

The top priorities identified by the task force are interrelated, officials said. Some of the answers to the affordability of housing issue, for example, can be addressed through priorities such as mixed use, infill development, air quality and land-use linkages. 

“The task force’s top priorities reflect a lot of wisdom in dealing with growth,” said Commissioner Chip Maxfield, who also serves on the RTC. “It’s important to address several priorities at once to make

sure our community continues on a sustainable path as we grow and change. I think we’re already on our way in many ways, especially with mixed use. Our new mixed-use ordinance emerged in part from early growth task force discussions. It’s designed to help us make the most of the infrastructure and natural resources we have. One area that you’ll see us zeroing in on as a result of the task force discussions and recommendations is finding ways to link transit with different mixed-use developments.”

The mixed-use ordinance, approved in January, contains a companion overlay district that identifies four zones for different intensities of development. The height allowed declines the further away projects are located from the Strip or from three other districts along major transportation corridors in the valley that include Boulder Highway, the I-215 Beltway and Blue Diamond Road. The RTC is using the overlay as a guide for planning future mass transit in the valley.

The commission saw the need for the ordinance because of escalating land prices and the growing number of applications planners are receiving for mixed-use projects – from four in 2003 to more than 50 now pending. Many mixed-use projects call for homes, businesses and recreational development within a single project. The ordinance provides flexibility in terms of heights and density to encourage the development of a variety of housing products. Bonus densities, for example, can be obtained for projects that include pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods, transit stops and grocery stores within walking distance of homes.           

“The ability of working families to afford their own homes in the valley has always made our community a success,” said Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates. “We’re seeing a lot of high-end projects come on line, but over time I think you’ll see developers offer more products for entry-level homebuyers and median-priced buyers. We’ve also made it clear in our ordinance that in exchange for higher density we want to see amenities for families and children such as parks and public plazas.”

Many strategies proposed by the task force will increase development of vacant or underutilized property within the valley. Infill, as it’s called, is advantageous because it taps existing infrastructure at less cost. Mixed-use projects often target infill parcels for use as affordable and attainable housing developments. The task force recommended that infill projects be given priority with special staff permitting and licensing teams and that parcels be “pre-zoned in order to reduce construction delays.”

The task force also addressed the desire of residents on the fringes of the valley for more infrastructure. Thus, the group recommended that a capital improvements plan (CIP) be integrated into the county’s master planning process. As a result, over the next 1½ years, officials expect to have CIPs in place for the four land-use plans that have been updated since the master planning process was overhauled in 2003. Those who move to the fringes of the valley will benefit from these new “truth in advertising” policies. Officials said homeowners will then know when public facilities such as police, fire station and flood control projects are planned to be built in new areas and how they will be paid for.

The Commission directed the task force to develop recommendations for four key areas of concentration: urban design, natural resources, public facilities planning and intergovernmental coordination. A copy of the entire report and an executive summary is posted on the county’s website at www.accessclarkcounty.com. Links to the reports are posted on the front page of the county’s Community Growth Management Initiative section.             The County Commission received the Growth Task Force report and staff will now sort through the recommendations to determine which may be enacted, be expanded upon, or require further evaluation or cooperation with other governmental entities, including the Legislature. “There are several recommendations that we can start working on right away, including looking at ways to better tie the construction of county infrastructure to future population projections,” Commissioner Reid said. “Others will take time to implement but that doesn’t mean they’ll sit on a shelf. This report is filled with a lot of good ideas and I think the recommendations will help us keep our eye on the ball in terms of making decisions about planning priorities.”