Valley officials chastised by national report

Denise Cardinal

Thursday, March 26, 1998 | 10:22 a.m.

The Las Vegas Valley might be taking too big a gamble that there will be enough land and water to sustain the number of people living here and moving here, according to a report issued by the Urban Land Institute.

The Washington, D.C.-based organization was hired by local planning officials to study the city's growth patterns for a week in October. Their official report was recently given to the city of Las Vegas planning department, though it hasn't been widely distributed yet. All of the valley's governments helped pay for the $95,000 study.

The ULI's research panel was made up of developers, public officials, academics, financial officers and other professionals from throughout the country. ULI, a nonprofit education and research institute, has done similar studies in several other cities including Boise, Idaho.

ULI was asked by the Pizza Group -- made up of planners from local governments -- to come up with some solutions for the valley to deal with its burgeoning population and sprawling development.

The panel interviewed more than 140 area officials and residents about their concerns with the valley's rate of growth and its effect on their quality of life.

In the report, the ULI concluded local business and political leaders believe that there is adequate land and water to support the region's growth.

This, according to the report, is an enigma considering that it is widely accepted in Las Vegas that the Bureau of Land Management owns all of the surrounding land.

Despite local leaders asserting to the ULI panel that the BLM would make that land available, the report points out that the federal agency has already established a "disposal area boundary." This boundary puts limits on the amount of land that can be handed over to developers to protect natural landscapes and wildlife habitats.

Though it's not a permanent boundary, it will eventually effect the amount of land that's easily obtained, the report stated.

The Las Vegas Valley Water District identified about 180,000 acres of developable land available within the BLM boundary and estimated it would support an increase in population of 1.6 million.

The ULI panel took issue with this estimate, pointing out in its report that the density of the developments within that boundary is only 2.7 units per acre, or 6.7 people per acre. Neither does the district's estimate take into account that several thousand acres will be used for commercial- industrial development and the airport impact zone. The ULI report estimated the valley's total buildout population cannot exceed 2 million.

Similar skepticism of the valley's water supply was expressed by the ULI in its report. Though the valley's contract with the Colorado River Commission can be changed, it doesn't necessarily mean there will be enough water or that it will be readily available.

Dwindling land supply would raise the price of real estate in Las Vegas, which would put a tighter leash on the area's growth patterns. If so, regional governments will be hard-pressed to allow high-density development to accommodate residents, the ULI report said.

The ULI report also criticized local leaders, stating that while in Las Vegas it "was struck by the relative weakness of civic leadership and community identity in the valley."

"Political leadership appears fractious and unfocused on the major issues confronting the valley. Business leadership in civic affairs is almost invisible," the report read.

Citizens also were labeled apathetic in their civic activity, probably because many have moved here from out of state.

Solutions for these, and other issues addressed in the report included: