Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

City, county agree on land use plan for northwest LV

Months of work, rancorous political debate and cross-government dueling have produced what some predicted would never happen: A new pact governing the future of development in the Las Vegas Valley's northwest.

The agreement, passed Wednesday by the Las Vegas City Council and the Clark County Commission, calls for cooperation between the governments in providing services to the area and approves the annexation by the city of county islands in the northwest.

The pact calls for the creation of a "seamless" land-use plan for the 33,000 acres covered by the agreement -- a plan that calls for unification of the city's and county's sometimes contrarian land-use plans.

Many residents of the area hope that they can turn a temporary moratorium on commercial development in the covered area into a permanent halt to the conversion of horse farms to drug stores and apartment complexes.

Still, the road to the agreement was anything but smooth.

The Clark County Commission approved the plan despite vigorous opposition from three commissioners who have always opposed any of various forms of the pact: Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, Myrna Williams and Erin Kenny.

What's more, Kenny tried to block the agreement, citing numerous issues. Among them:

* The pact freezes development of rural areas for at least one year. Kenny said commercial and high-density residential development is important to broaden the county's tax base.

* The agreement allows the city to annex vacant property in the county that is surrounded by city property, per a state law passed in the spring. Kenny objected to a provision that bars the county from lobbying for relief from the law.

* The agreement also designates the city as the sewer service provider for the northwest. Kenny said she supports the county providing its own service for development in the area.

Commissioner Chip Maxfield, who represents the area and made passage of the agreement a top priority over the past year, countered that the pact provides stability in a rapidly growing area and that cooperation with the city to provide service is the best use of taxpayer dollars.

"I guess you could beat the heck out of this if you wanted to," Maxfield said.

"That's what I want to do," Kenny responded.

But Maxfield gathered support from commissioners Yvonne Atkinson Gates, Bruce Woodbury and Commission Chairman Dario Herrera to win the vote, the most recent of a series of votes on the contentious issues that began last summer.

The Las Vegas City Council approved the agreement cautiously, unsure whether the commissioners -- who considered the item later in the morning -- would follow suit or delay the process again.

But around noon, three hours after the council members cast their votes 6-1 for the agreement, the members learned the commissioners had also approved the agreement. Councilman Gary Reese asked, with a laugh, whether Kenny had voted in favor of the agreement.

Mayor Oscar Goodman cast the lone vote on the council against the interlocal. Goodman said he couldn't accept a provision -- which city officials said was requested by the county -- that stopped all discussions of consolidation for five years.

Goodman has floated the idea of consolidating county services since he was elected.

"With the times as they are, (consolidation) really has to be explored," Goodman said. Nonetheless, he said he hoped the interlocal would be approved by the city and county.

Although the agreement precludes the city from actively taking a role in consolidation -- such as introducing new legislation -- the voters could take it upon themselves by gathering enough signatures to put a question on the ballot, Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald said.

"As a practical matter, it must be through an initiative of the people," she said. "When the people have spoken, there's nothing the city or the county can do about it."

Many residents of the northwest, where horse farms can still be found next to dense residential and occasional commercial development, supported the pact.

"I kind of thought it was inevitable," said George Hitter, president of the Northwest Citizens Association. The group has long protested commercialization of the area.

He said the agreement gives residents one year to work with city and county planners to further protect rural areas from commercial encroachment.

But not all were in favor.

Sharon Linsenbardt owns and lives on four parcels at the corner of Grand Teton Drive and Tenaya Way inside the county. Although zoned and planned for residential use, the land is ill-suited for new homes, and the pact will limit her ability to develop the property commercially, she said.

"I've never seen such a blatant disregard for people's property rights," Linsenbardt said.

She called the city and county action "socialist" and promised a legal challenge.

But Jory Stewart, a county planner, said Linsenbardt's situation today isn't any different than it was before the pact was approved.

"The interlocal really didn't affect her at all," Stewart said. "Nothing has changed."

Because the land-use guide for the area calls for residential development, Linsenbardt still must apply to the county if she seeks commercial development on the property. She also must apply to the city for sewer service, Stewart said.

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