Public, private sectors urged to join against urban blight

Brian Seals

Thursday, Sept. 24, 1998 | 11:42 a.m.

Government and developers must work closer together to refurbish Las Vegas's urban areas and return life to blighted areas.

That's according to a report on infill development issued today by the Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

Infill development is defined as building in vacant areas that are encompassed by development and have access to utilities. It is seen as a method of reducing sprawl and polishing blighted areas.

While the report says the free market should guide infill policies, much of it focuses on ways government can facilitate such action.

Flexible zoning regulations, financial incentives and creating appealing areas with landscaped sidewalks and street lights were just some of the ways government can further inner city development, according to the report.

The report calls on local governments to, among other things, create infill districts that have more flexibility in their zoning regulations and building codes and to streamline the approval process for such projects.

"What I hear a lot of developers say is, 'We don't need money, just permission"' said Debra March, director of the Lied Institute.

Zoning that mixes uses like residential and business can cut down on crime, the report says. It calls for public-private sector cooperation to build "master-planned" villages that incorporate business, retail and residential areas.

But before developers get concerned about zoning, they have to have land to develop. And government can play a part in that. The report says local governments should acquire vacant land in developed areas, particularly property held by the Bureau of Land Management, and re-sell it through a bidding process to ensure developable land in inner cities.

That's because easily developed land is scarce in urbanized areas. People owning vacant land know that and will reject seemingly lucrative offers in hopes of a better deal. The report urges government to make better use of eminent domain to facilitate land acquisition. Further, it urges Clark County to establish a Redevelopment Authority.

Hank Gordon of Laurich Properties Inc. said such agencies can help assemble the needed land for a developer.

His company is refurbishing the old Sahara Square Shopping Center and Gordon said a redevelopment authority would have been beneficial in that effort. He had to deal with three different property owners to get the land and had to pay tenants to leave. A redevelopment authority could handle those problems, using eminent domain and paying fair market value for the land.

The tax gain resulting from an improved piece of property can be used to fund the authority.

"I highly urge the county to adopt a community redevelopment authority so infill areas can be redeveloped in a win-win situation," Gordon said.

Financial incentives are another way to lure developers to take the risk of building in blighted areas.

Rick Smith, vice president of American Nevada Corp., said financial incentives from the city of Las Vegas enabled American Nevada and its partners to pursue building the 14-story Sun Plaza downtown.

The city contributed $6.4 million in redevelopment financing to the $57 million project.

"It's more than important, it's essential," Smith said. "It would have been economically infeasible without the participation of the city."

American Nevada and the Las Vegas Sun are both controlled by members of the Greenspun family.

Among other recommendations in the report:

* Politicians need to be willing to withstand public opposition to high-density development if such projects meet redevelopment goals. Projects often fall prey to what is known as NIMBY, or "not in my backyard" syndrome.

* Creation of neighborhood and business districts that can tax themselves to fund public improvements.

* Infill plans should concentrate on recapturing one block at a time. Individual projects spread around a redevelopment area have less impact than refurbishing an entire block, the report says.

* Allow developers to pay fees as they lease or sell spaces in infill projects.

Many participants say shoring up blighted areas is good for the whole community, not just areas where the projects are located.

"It's very hard for a metropolitan area to have successful suburban areas and have a core that is in decline," said John Restrepo of Restrepo Consulting Group. "Sooner or later, that decline spreads."