Planners eager to unveil zoning hotline

Adrienne Packer

Wednesday, July 14, 1999 | 11 a.m.

Las Vegas might be best known for its 24 hours a day, seven days a week reputation that attracts concert-goers, club-hoppers and gamblers.

Now Clark County is extending the offer to a new group -- zoning enthusiasts.

Zoning issues don't interest everybody, but based on the daily barrage of calls placed to the county planning division, officials believe there is a need for an around-the-clock zoning hotline.

"Our staff is so busy, someone can call with a question and it might take days before a planner gets back to them," Donna Rainone, the planning department's system technician, said.

Armed with a single parcel number, callers can navigate their way through an automated voice system and learn the status of a project or find out the Clark County planning staff's recommendation to the commission.

The recorded message will inform callers of the zoning on their property and list development standards -- such as how many horses can be housed on a half-acre parcel -- for the land.

Planners expect the 20 new phone lines, which are scheduled to be turned on Aug. 1, will significantly reduce the number of calls by answering residents' questions through its recorded response system or by sending faxes.

Rainone said the four to six planners who staff the desk handle hundreds of calls each day; the sole task of two staffers is to answer questions. The inquiries range from the zoning of certain property to the type of project planned in a neighborhood.

"We surveyed the phone calls our staff was getting and tried to get those questions answered," Rainone said.

Because the phone system for zoning inquiries, dubbed Zone Phone, is so expansive and packed with information, it is unusual. In fact, Rainone said software companies specializing in government programs had never heard of such a program.

The most important lesson Rainone learned from her research was to keep the message short and concise. If the description of a project or status of a project is too lengthy, the message will offer to fax the information or recommend the caller visit the planning division in person.

The program is expected to be used mostly by real estate representatives, appraisers and developers. But residents interested in what they can do with their land -- development standards -- or want information about a particular project will also use the phone program. Only the parcel number is necessary to retrieve information.

Rainone said the phone line will be down for three hours between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. so the freshest information can be loaded. The program is being tested by development companies and if no bugs are detected, it should be available to the public in August. The Zone Phone number is 455-6777.