Growth limits backed

Friday, May 16, 1997 | 4:49 a.m.

The Infrastructure Committee agreed to draft Assembly Bill 490, introduced Thursday, after hearing a presentation on growth by Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas. The bill, nicknamed "ring-around-Las Vegas," would draw a line around the Las Vegas Valley beyond which development would be blocked.

"This is a positive step towards controlling growth and making sure what we have is quality growth," Goldwater said after the bill's introduction. "Rather than just unrestrained growth, this makes us stick to a plan."

Goldwater said legislation to control growth has been in the works since 1990, when a citizen's advisory task force recommended the measure.

The lines for the development zones are based on geographical and topographical features like the boundaries of drainage basins, Goldwater said. They coincide with boundaries suggested by the federal Nevada Lands Task Force, a group Titus served on.

"This just locks in the area currently fit for urban development," Goldwater said.

Development would be stopped in areas north of Grand Teton Drive, east of Hollywood Boulevard, south of Sky Harbor Airport and west of Summerlin. Within those boundaries are 94,000 acres of privately held undeveloped land and 27,000 acres of federal land available for sale and development.

The bill also states how land may be developed within urban areas, specifically taking aim at casino development.

AB490 would require planning projects of "regional significance" to file impact reports with local governments and zoning commissions. The reports would have to include estimates of water usage, sewage effluence and traffic as well as the number of students the project could bring to local schools.

Projects of "regional significance" would include facilities employing more than 500 people or housing or hotel developments with more than 300 units.

The bill says control over development is necessary because of staggering growth in Las Vegas. About 1.1 million people currently live in the Las Vegas Valley, and that population is growing by as much as 9 percent each year.

In addition, population forecasts predict that Nevada will be the fastest-growing state into the beginning of the 21st century, increasing its population by as much as 79 percent between 1996 and 2020.

According to AB490, rapid growth has hurt local governments' abilities to carry out growth plans in "an orderly and responsible manner." The bill also warns that Las Vegas' tourist economy depends upon the city's attractiveness.