$400 million long-range park project launched

Adrienne Packer

Wednesday, Oct. 6, 1999 | 9:52 a.m.

Clark County, woefully behind in the valleywide standard for park acreage per 1,000 residents, embarked Tuesday on a 20-year, $400 million project that will renovate old parks and recreation centers and build new ones.

The Parks and Recreation Master Plan, unanimously approved by the commission Tuesday, says the county will provide a minimum of 2.5 parkland acres per 1,000 residents.

"This is a minimum threshold," Jeff Harris, the county's manager of park planning, said. "We'll at least achieve that and then do anything we can to move beyond that."

The county abandoned a standard Harris said it had tried to reach for the last 15 years -- to provide 4 acres of parks per 1,000 citizens. A lack of open space and a constantly growing population made that goal nearly impossible to reach.

The Southern Nevada Strategic Planning Authority set the 2.5-acre goal several years ago and commissioners agreed to be consistent with the valley standard, but not necessarily satisfied with it.

"The key word here is minimum, not maximum," Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates said. "Our goal is to reach this before 20 years is up; to me, the sooner the better."

The county isn't anywhere near reaching even the minimum standard in some districts. In Commissioner Myrna Williams' district, which has a population of about 105,000 and includes some of the valley's oldest neighborhoods in central Las Vegas, there are 0.3 acres of parks per 1,000 residents.

In contrast, Commissioner Bruce Woodbury's eastern district has the most park space -- about 2.4 acres per 1,000 residents in an area that has 98,000 people.

Harris said in older neighborhoods in the southeast and northeast, the county will have to buy private property to develop recreational facilities and parks. Bureau of Land Management property, which the county can obtain at no cost, is more accessible.

In addition to building new facilities, the county will spend millions of dollars on sprucing up aging parks and centers.

Harris said parks need to be refurbished about every 30 years. Many of the county's parks are nearing that time, and every five years for the next two decades, money will be pumped into renovations as they are needed, he said.

One member of the citizens advisory committee that helped draft the plan told commissioners that whether the county decides on 2.5 acres or 4 acres, it's important to simply build new parks.

"We need more parks, we need more ballfields," committee member Jeff van Ee said. "The committee is simply looking for more neighborhood parks and more regional parks."

In addition to constructing new facilities, the county agreed to provide more safety measures to existing and new parks. Fences will be built around toddler play areas, and playgrounds will have security lighting.

Harris conceded that coming up with money for parks is the county's greatest obstacle, but that will be offset by a recently approved $50 million tax-neutral bond.

"That will jumpstart our parks program," he said.