Reid pursues sprawl relief for Las Vegas

Tuesday, Feb. 16, 1999 | 11:18 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Las Vegas is a prime example of urban sprawl, and federal legislation is in the works to help with the problem, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., told the Nevada Legislature Monday.

Vice President Al Gore will visit Southern Nevada in May "to meet with local and state officials on strategies for dealing with urban sprawl and ways to promote livable communities on the national agenda," Reid said.

Gore's concept for "livable communities" is still being developed, but there will be federal money for Southern Nevada, the senator said at a news conference following the legislative meeting.

Sen. John Chaffee, R-Rhode Island, who is chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, also will hold a field hearing in Las Vegas in the spring on the sprawl legislation.

The "livable communities" program is being pushed by the vice president. "There is no better example of why this is needed than Las Vegas," Reid said.

"Las Vegas has urban sprawl. We have traffic jams. We're fighting to see what we are going to do with mass transit. We have highways that are clogged with an airport that is crowded," he told reporters.

"We're building all kinds of airports. You know North Las Vegas Airport is second busiest airport in Nevada. It's not Reno-Tahoe. And now they are building another airport, Sky Harbor.

"We need programs to alleviate some of this sprawl, and yes, we are going try to appropriate money for planning efforts."

The legislation is not drafted yet "but when I heard the vice president talk about urban sprawl, my ears perked up because that's what we have in Las Vegas," he said.

Growth in Southern Nevada is going to be one of the biggest issues of the Legislature.

"I want to make sure that growth doesn't break us."

The senator also predicted a bi-partisan atmosphere will emerge from the impeachment hearings of Clinton. He said he's been in Washington 17 years and very rarely do senators and congressmen spend time together. They rush from committee hearing to committee hearing and then head for home.

"For the first time in 131 years, we spent five weeks together. We sat at our desks. We had five days in there where we were talking with each other. Friendships were developed. Coalitions formed. We have a great opportunity to so some bi-partisan work."

There were commitments made during the trial by Democrat and Republican leaders they would work closer together. "The fact that Newt Gingrich is now gone is a step forward for this country. He was not interested in policy, he was interested in politics. We couldn't get anything done."

He described Senate Majority Leader Trend Lott as a "card carrying conservative" but "he is a pragmatic man and he likes to get things done.

"I think we are going to see a new era," Reid said, also praising House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois. "I think the impeachment trial has done as much as anything to create a bi-partisan atmosphere."

Reid, who was elected last November to his third term, also said he would not let the diminished Walker Lake in Mineral County dry up. And he took a shot at the absence of a state effort to preserve the desert lake.

"The federal government is here because the state has defaulted on its responsibilities," he said.

Reid called on the state to join in building a veterans home in Northern Nevada, like the one being constructed in Boulder City and said his education bill in Congress could provide $70 million to Nevada each year for school construction.

Nevada has lost some support in the Senate in its effort to block the drive in Congress to create an interim nuclear waste storage dump at the Nevada Test Site, Reid said.

President Clinton has promised to veto any interim site, but Nevada must convince 34 senators to sustain the veto. "We're doing everything to make sure we have the 34 votes."

The senator praised Gov. Kenny Guinn for his Millennium Scholarship program, which calls for scholarships up to $2,500 a year for high school students with "B" averages to attend Nevada universities and colleges.