Way paved for small-lot projects

Dan Kulin

Thursday, July 17, 2003 | 8:41 a.m.

The North Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday ended the nearly yearlong prohibition on small-lot housing developments by approving regulations governing the aesthetics of the projects.

The new regulations include requirements for tree-lined streets and other design elements, as well as limiting the small-lot homes to developments of at least 80 acres.

The 80-acre minimum will probably limit the effect of the three ordinances approved Wednesday to less than 10 areas in the city. But the new design requirements could have a broader impact if they serve as a model for other residential zoning classifications, as some city leaders have suggested.

The regulations lift the restriction on new detached single-family homes on lots smaller than 4,500 square feet, which had been in place since Sept. 4. Now homes can now be built on lots as small as 2,700 square feet in developments that meet all of the other criteria in the new rules.

Only Councilman Robert Eliason voted against the regulations. Eliason asked his fellow council members to increase the minimum lot size to 3,500 square feet, but Mayor Michael Montandon said that would limit the variety of homes.

Developments with small-lot homes must still have an overall density no greater than 5.8 homes per acre. This means that developments with the smallest lots will also include much larger home lots, so the overall project maintains the required average, Montandon said. Increasing the size of the smallest allowed home lots would mean reducing the size of the larger ones.

The council also unanimously approved a law that will require developers of planned unit developments, also called PUDs, pay a residential construction tax. The residential construction tax is a one-time, per-home tax based on the square footage of the home and is capped at $1,000 per unit.