Cooperation vital when planning for LV’s future

Steve Sebelius

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

The former head of Las Vegas' planning department said residents, developers, casino bosses and government officials need to work together to shape the city for the future.

Donna Kristaponis, who now heads Reno's planning department, said Tuesday that "stakeholders" in the community should cooperate, not fight, in efforts to develop common goals for Las Vegas' future.

Her comments came at a UNLV town hall meeting entitled "Las Vegas: Planning the City of the Century." Other panelists included NTS Development Corp. Executive Director Tim Carlson and Michael Wakelin of Bechtel International.

Kristaponis said she was told many times at City Hall to "just do it," without a vision for the future.

"What happens when the common good can't be defined as the greatest good for the greatest number?" she asked. "Does the good of the few outweigh the good of the many?"

Kristaponis was fired by the city in September after the SUN reported she was a finalist for the planning chief's job in San Francisco, although city officials have maintained that her job search was not the only reason she was let go.

She said collaborative groups of usually opposed parties have worked in cities such as Denver and Houston, and they should be given a chance here in Las Vegas as well.

"Can we build a civic community?" she asked. "If we stay the course, do you like what you get?"

But Larry Paulson, a retired UNLV biology professor who has worked with the Nevada Seniors Coalition to oppose the state's ambitious new "second straw" water project at Lake Mead, disagreed.

"The people feel left out," Paulson said. "The people do not want to have the door slammed in their face anymore."

Paulson said governments often take public comment from citizens but then disregard it. "Every time we turn around, somebody says, 'Thank you for your time,' and they move forward," he said.

He said residents' vision for the future of Las Vegas is different from casino owners' or developers' and that conflict between the two is inevitable.

"Their vision for the future is we pay the bills," he said.

Paulson's comments echo similar ones made by Sue Brna, former head of the Charleston Heights Neighborhood Association, who resigned last week saying she was frustrated with residents' views being shunted aside.

Most recently, the council voted to approve a widening of U.S. 95 that will take hundreds of homes, businesses and a school, despite widespread opposition to the plan by neighbors led by Brna.

But Kristaponis maintained that involvement in the process is still vital.

"(Conflict) never gets to be the single most compelling issue," she said. "It feeds on itself. Everybody's got to have a stake in this."

Other panelists also said residents should try to cooperate. "We need to work together as a community to reach those goals that we set for ourselves," Carlson said.

A good example is a resident-oriented plan for using the downsized Nevada Test Site, which is coordinated by his corporation.

And Wakelin urged Las Vegas to diversify its economy beyond gaming and gaming-related industries.

"The fundamental thing you have to do is grow your economy," he said.