‘Rural’ called misleading term

Tuesday, March 4, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

The Las Vegas City Council, looking to pass the most sweeping changes to its zoning codes in many years, wants misleading terms like "rural" and "non-urban" eliminated from the classifications.

During a recommending committee meeting Monday, Mayor Jan Laverty Jones said the words are especially confusing when they are applied to so-called holding zones like R-U (rural undeveloped) and NU (non-urban).

"The words are confusing because it gives people the impression they are going to remain rural, when the land can be rezoned for commercial use," Jones said. "Don't use rural or non-urban at all. How about N-Z for 'not zoned?'"

That, the mayor was told by the city's legal council, is not allowed. All property, including undeveloped lands annexed from the county, must come into the city limits with a zoning classification.

As a result, the new lands, generally located in the ever-burgeoning northwest and far away from urban areas are tagged R-U or N-U, for lack of better undefined zoning terms.

However, if the general plan allows for such areas to be changed to commercial or rezoned for other forms of development, a developer can seek a zone change.

Jones noted that people sometimes get the impression that the developer and council slipped one past them by changing a rural classification to commercial like C-D (designed commercial), C-1 (limited commercial) or C-2 (general commercial).

However, often such changes are in line with the general plan, which was last updated in 1992.

Several council members at Monday's meeting also asked staff to look into the possibility of updating the general plan once "The Zoning Code of the City of Las Vegas" is passed.

The city staff is expected to find acceptable wording for the so-called holding zones, and return with a second draft of the one-inch thick regulations for a March 17 recommending committee meeting.

The bill is expected to come before the council for a vote on March 24. If passed, the ordinance will go into effect April 23.

The bill features language that city staff officials say is easier for the average citizen to read. It creates more predictability in the development process, staff officials said.

However, there are still a great number of zoning classifications -- 29 -- and some of them appear to be duplicative. For instance, R-4 is designated as "high density residential," a term generally associated with apartments. However, R-5 is designated as "apartments."

Also, new zoning districts have been added including O (office) and N-S (neighborhood service).

The bill also requires more parking for higher density residential areas and commercial property, in line with national standards. Councilman Matt Callister said restaurant rows along Sahara Avenue and Decatur Boulevard have insufficient parking.

Also as part of the measure, the "Landscape, Wall & Buffer Standards" and "Design Standards" manuals were modified.