Consultant’s work on northwest plan raises concerns

Denise Cardinal

Thursday, Feb. 12, 1998 | 10:21 a.m.

Jim Veltman is a very busy man.

Too busy, some might say.

In October, he finished a year-long consulting gig for the city of Las Vegas. He was hired to come up with the plans for the Northwest Town Center -- an area of land at the corner of U.S. 95 and the proposed beltway that will become home to high-density housing, commercial, industrial and office projects.

The idea behind the Town Center concept is that a variety of land uses would be put into one specific region, rather than be strewn among the major thoroughfares of the city. Veltman was responsible for getting the idea onto paper.

Because the city was clutching its purse strings tightly in 1996, the consultant's contract was different than most. Rather than being paid by the city, Veltman's funding came from donations made by developers and builders in the Las Vegas Valley.

"There was no budget for the Northwest plan and Town Center designs," Veltman said. "We raised the funds ourselves."

After his stint as city consultant, Veltman started consulting for the developers who want their projects in the Town Center. Currently he has three clients: two apartment complex developers and one mid-rise office building developer.

Veltman's about face has some city officials and residents concerned that there might be a conflict of interest.

Some residents of Timber Lake, a single-family housing development that is being built in the middle of the Town Center, are faced with the prospect of having an apartment or office complex become their next-door neighbor and they are not pleased. Their vocal protests at recent City Council meetings led to the temporary suspension of the application process for projects in the Town Center.

Meanwhile, Planning Commission Chairman David Griego wrote a letter to Mayor Jan Laverty Jones asking her to look into the Veltman situation. Planning Director Theresa O'Donnell wrote a similar letter to City Attorney Brad Jerbic.

Jerbic said he couldn't comment on the matter. But city officials say there may be little, if any, recourse for the city to pursue.

Though elected officials are required to have a cooling off period before they can represent anyone before the City Council, Veltman was in independent contractor. And his agreement with the city was one-of-a-kind: the city wasn't even footing the bill.

"I have never found myself in a situation quite like this before," O'Donnell said. "But Veltman's contract was a unique situation that I haven't seen before."

Veltman contends his situation is anything but unique.

"There is no conflict of interest whatsoever," he said. "Planners work for both sides of the fence. They always have and they always will."

There are some interesting discrepancies in Veltman's testimony when one side is compared to the other.

For instance, earlier reports Veltman gave about the Town Center stated that it would have a small-town feel and that buildings shouldn't exceed six stories in height.

Now, he's representing an office structure slated for a height minimum of six stories and maximum of 10.

"That building happens to run right up against the interchange of U.S. 95 and the beltway," he said. "It'll be similar to what Levitz is like now at the Spaghetti Bowl."

But there won't be any decisions made on the office building or Veltman's position for the next 90 days.

The application moratorium puts Veltman and his clients at a serious disadvantage, he said, though he doesn't blame the city. After working so closely with the planning department, he's seen first hand just how overworked and underpaid the staff is, he said.

"There just isn't enough staff to do the work," he said. "There just aren't enough of them to handle the load with this kind of growth."