Growth panel draws mixed reactions as vote nears

Scott Reeder

Thursday, Dec. 3, 1998 | 11:08 a.m.

A regional planning coalition set for review Monday by the Las Vegas City Council is either a bold new initiative or a smoke screen, depending on who's describing it.

Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones sees a bleak future for the coalition.

Her counterpart in Henderson, Mayor Jim Gibson, however, predicts success.

Jones says the coalition is doomed to mediocrity because it won't have any real authority.

"It just doesn't have any teeth," Jones said Wednesday. "I'll vote for it. But it won't do anything significant. It is just another group that will sit around and talk."

Jones said she is pushing for the Nevada Legislature to create a more powerful planning board that will oversee major planning decisions throughout the Las Vegas Valley.

But for the time being, the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition is what is at the plate. And Gibson says it should not be counted out.

"We've always said this was a beginning -- not an end. We are taking our first step toward greater cooperation. This is something that hasn't happened before. Is there one more step after this or five more? I don't know. But at least we are doing something."

So far, Henderson, Clark County, North Las Vegas and Boulder City have opted to join the coalition.

If adopted, the coalition will be an outgrowth of the Southern Nevada Strategic Planning Authority, which was set up by the 1997 Legislature to study growth issues and prepare a report for the 1999 Legislature.

Items of major importance that affect multiple jurisdictions would be referred to the coalition for advice before the county or an individual city takes action, according to Tracy Cotton, program coordinator for the planning authority.

The Las Vegas City Council could possibly jeopardize any future the coalition might have simply by not joining it.

While Jones has said endorsement by the City Council is likely, she remains a strong critic.

And Councilman Michael McDonald said, "The mayor will likely be the one who takes the lead on the measure. I can tell you this, I'd much rather have a commission that had some teeth. The public does not want a bunch of government officials just sitting around talking about problems. They want action."

McDonald said he is undecided about whether to support the measure.

Councilman Gary Reese said he is keeping an open mind.

"I like the concept of the different cities sharing their experiences in how to deal with shared concerns. But I want to hear what my fellow council members think. They have been very supportive of things in my ward and I want to support them too."

Betsy Fretwell, inter-govern-mental relations director for the city of Henderson, said, "If Las Vegas chooses not to join, it is really going to take the wind out our sails. If you have a city of 400,000 right in the middle of the valley not participating, it is not going to stop us but it is going to be pretty hard to effectively plan."

But Bob Marshall, the Reno attorney who drafted the legal agreement creating the coalition, said if Las Vegas opts not to join, it will kill the agreement. In order for the coalition to be formed without Las Vegas, the agreement would have to be re-written and endorsed by each of the entities again, he said.

"Las Vegas officials did want stronger language and for the coalition to have more than an advisory role. But none of the other cities wanted that," he said.

But Reese said he feels comfortable with the language in the agreement.

"I think the city councils should have the ultimate say," he said. "I think the coalition should be completely advisory."

But critics of the coalition already are calling it mere "window dressing" for local officials determined not give up any of their power.

The coalition, which will consist of representatives of the county and each city, can advise local governments on what decisions they should make. Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, is critical of the concept behind the coalition.

"They have absolutely no authority. I think the different entities are creating this in order to create a cover for not giving up any power," she said. "In government, a lot of times politicians will say, 'We are studying the matter,' when they really want the issue to just go away and for the public to forget about it."

Giunchigliani said a regional planning group needs to have authority beyond giving advice.

"The Texas and Fiesta casinos are in North Las Vegas. But when they were built, they not only affected traffic there but also in Las Vegas. That was a regional issue that needed to be decided by someone other than just one city."

State Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, characterized the coalition as mere "window dressing" for the county and area cities retaining power.

"It just kind of looks like they don't want to give up any of their authority," she said. "I support creating a planning authority that would make solid policy decisions for the Las Vegas Valley. They have had one in Washoe County."

The Southern Nevada Strategic Planning Authority was created by the Legislature in 1997 to develop recommendations to both state and local government on how to better plan for Southern Nevada. A comprehensive plan developed by this group is now being reviewed by the public.

In fact, the Las Vegas Planning Commission will host a public hearing on the matter at 6 p.m. today in the City Council chambers.

Pete Ernaut, chief of staff for Governor-elect Kenny Guinn, said Guinn believes the planning authority has done an excellent job, but that he is keeping an open mind as to whether a regional planning board, stronger than the proposed coalition, is needed.

The authority will expire next summer and the coalition is designed to continue the dialogue among the various local governments.