County approves 5 towers near Strip

Thursday, Aug. 5, 2004 | 11:08 a.m.

Here come the skyscrapers.

The Clark County Commission approved five new high-rise buildings on and near the Las Vegas Strip on Wednesday, but at the same meeting signaled that it would begin limiting some of the plans for big buildings in the region's urban core.

The projects approved Wednesday, along with others in the works, promise to dramatically change the skyline of the city. County policymakers and staff are calling the process the "Manhattanization" of Las Vegas.

The projects approved were:

The applicants for the proposed 810-foot tower, represented by attorney John O'Reilly, said they wanted a tower that would rank "barely in the top 100 buildings in the world" in height. Commissioner Lynette Boggs McDonald, however, said she did not want to see buildings of that height west of Interstate 15. Only Commission Chairman Chip Maxfield, who supported the taller structure, voted against Boggs McDonald's motion to grant the land-use approval for the project at 600 feet.

The commission held a request until Aug. 18 for a 35-story, 500-foot tower at Las Vegas and Riviera boulevards. County counsel Rob Warhola said he was concerned that approval for the project could affect ongoing litigation stemming from the commission's denial of a similar request.

While approving the high rises, the commission directed staff to begin a planning process that will bring together various stakeholders, including community members and developers, to discuss where high rises should go and how high they can go. The county does not have any height limits now, although the developers have to ensure their buildings do not block landing and take-off routes for McCarran International Airport.

Commissioners said that high-rise developments make sense in a community struggling with limited land and water resources. Commissioner Rory Reid, however, noted that the high rises bring their own issues; not everyone wants a skyscraper next door.

"We have a happy problem here," Reid said. "Given what is going on in our community, the drought, the scarcity of land and rising land prices, it is inevitable we should go vertical.

"But it creates new issues for us," he said. "We need to understand what the global discussion is that is going on."

Beyond the relatively simple issue of height, the question of where the mixed residential and commercial towers -- known in county land-use parlance as urban villages -- belong is soon coming to the commission. Two 300-foot towers are proposed for Durango Drive and the Las Vegas Beltway, and Boggs McDonald, who represents the area, has indicated she would not support the request for buildings of that height.

Community activists also are insisting that the towers in the southwest Las Vegas Valley stick to 100 feet, which is allowed by county code. The issue comes before the Clark County Planning Commission tonight, then to the County Commission later this month for what could be a final decision.

"I personally, having lived in a lot of major cities in my life, knew that it was inevitable that we would have to go vertical given the land prices," Boggs McDonald said during the extended discussion over high rises. "I am concerned about where the heights belong."

She suggested a gradual reduction in allowable building heights as developers move west from the Strip. This would at least partially address one of the major objections raised by community activists to the high rises, which is that the buildings block views of the Spring Mountains on the west side of the valley.

Clark County Comprehensive Planning Director Barbara Ginoulias said those issues will be addressed in a process that should formally begin in two weeks. She said the existing land-use rules just weren't created envisioning these kinds of building heights throughout the community.

"Staff realizes the UV (urban-village) code as it is written does not live up to all of our expectations nor does it fit all the areas," Ginoulias told the board.

She noted that county code now has no height limit.

"That's one of the things we'll be discussing."

County planning expects to bring a proposal to gather a committee to discuss the high-rise issues. The County Commission should receive the proposal Aug. 18, the same day it is scheduled to consider the proposed dual towers at Durango and the beltway.

Ginoulias said staff understands that with the flood of high-rise proposals coming before the commission, new rules need to be established quickly. She said the new group working on land-use rules for high rises and should return its recommendations to the commission within 60 to 90 days.

While the recommendations would guide future decisions, the board's Wednesday moves set a precedent.

In other business:

The Clark County Commission denied a request for 25 homes near Wigwam Avenue and Tenaya Way that sparked opposition from residents.

The proposed 10-acre development was adjacent to a designated Rural Neighborhood Preservation area, which only allows two homes per acre. Attorney Jay Brown and land-use consultant Lucy Stewart argued that such low-housing-density areas represent some of the last readily accessible vacant land in the urban area to build on.