Goodman: New fees may aid old areas

Wednesday, May 3, 2000 | 10:30 a.m.

RENO -- Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman wants the Nevada Legislature to allow cities to shift impact fees paid on new developments to finance parks in older and poor neighborhoods.

Developers pay government to provide for such things as parks and streets and other amenities on new projects. The mayor feels that money should not be applied only to that project but could be used in other areas of the city.

Goodman outlined his proposal at a meeting between Las Vegas and Reno city officials to talk about common problems and possible joint efforts before the 2001 Legislature.

Asked if he might be shortchanging the property and homeowners in the new development who pay the fees to the builders, Goodman said parks are regional facilities that everybody uses. And he said some of that money should be available for "less affluent areas."

"Everybody uses the parks. The folks who move into the community want to make sure the quality of life is excellent for everybody who lives in the valley," the mayor said.

Goodman, council members Lynette Boggs McDonald and Michael Mack, City Manager Virginia Valentine and other city officials spent a day with their counterparts in Reno touring the city and listening to presentations about how the two cities handle their problems.

Goodman directed Valentine to include on a future Las Vegas council meeting the suggestion of Reno Mayor Jeff Griffin to change the state law that gives a depreciation allowance of 1 1/2 percent per year to older homes and buildings.

Griffin said that an older home may be sitting next to a new home and both are valued at $400,000. But the older home could be paying one-third of the taxes of the new home because of the depreciation allowance in Nevada law. His suggestion would be that the tax depreciation schedule ends when the house is sold.

This is more of a problem in Reno, which is an older community than Las Vegas.

There were suggestions the Legislature provide more incentives for development of affordable housing and also allow the cities to forgive impact fees to entice builders to develop certain areas.

Goodman and Boggs McDonald also touted working with the university to put life into the downtown areas. As an example, UNLV is going to begin offering extension classes in the historic Fifth Street School in Las Vegas, which is now an office complex.

The downtown area in Reno has persevered despite suffering through a series of closures of gaming casinos and other businesses. Harolds Club, the Nevada Club and the Mapes hotel casino -- long landmarks in the downtown area -- have been demolished. No new structures have appeared in their place.

Asked if this one-day trip had any benefit, Goodman said, "I learned what has happened in a downtown area (Reno) that was blighted and was economically in trouble. Virtually overnight since the last time I was up here it has been revitalized, and it gives me a great deal of hope for my downtown of Las Vegas."