NLV: Open spaces pushed

Lisa Snedeker

Thursday, March 25, 1999 | 11:13 a.m.

North Las Vegas may be a lot more open in the future.

The Planning Commission Wednesday night voted 5-1 to approve revisions on how common open space in a planned-unit development will be calculated. Commissioner Chris Montanez cast the lone dissenting vote.

If the City Council concurs, open space on all future planned projects will be based on the number of homes, not on the total acreage as it is now.

The request to revise the ordinance came from the City Council. One of the council's top priorities is to provide more recreational opportunities for residents.

The amended ordinance gives developers no incentive to give the city more parks in a planned unit development, said Mark Jones of Southwest Engineering.

Approval of the changes would send a message to developers that the only projects North Las Vegas wants to see built are single-family homes, he said.

"There's no cap on open space, and you will have no multi-family housing built," he said.

"What you want to do is combine open space, but by doing this you are limiting it."

The planning staff said the ordinance brings North Las Vegas more in line with what Las Vegas and Henderson require of developers in terms of open space.

But Jones said that Las Vegas only recently changed its open space requirement and it has yet to be tested.

Chip Maxfield, who represented Avante Homes, said he also believes the requirements are too stringent and that there needs to be more flexibility in the ordinance for builders.