New plan governing high rises unveiled

Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2004 | 9:49 a.m.

A Clark County planner Tuesday formally unveiled a new plan that would govern how high high-rise buildings could go throughout the unincorporated county.

With dozens of high rises planned throughout the urban area, the proposed ordinance would create five zones for the "mixed-use" developments that bring together condominiums, retail and office space in structures that can be 600 feet tall or more.

The Clark County Commission would still have to approve building heights above 100 feet, and the Clark County Aviation Department and the Federal Aviation Administration could still block high rises that could potentially interfere with air traffic.

In August and September, Commissioner Lynette Boggs McDonald, who represents areas from the west side of the Strip to the fast-growing southwest part of the urban area, expressed concern that while the general trend towards taller, high-occupancy buildings may make sense because of the skyrocketing price of land, not every area in the county was appropriate for buildings over 100 feet tall.

The commission in September moved to request an ordinance that would bring developers, community activists and others with a stake in the high-rise developments in to discuss where the towers should go and how high they should be.

Rod Allison, a planner with Clark County Comprehensive Planning, said the new rule would come as "overlay zones" along the Las Vegas Beltway from Jones Boulevard to Hualapai Way, along Blue Diamond Road from Interstate 15 to Hualapai, on Boulder Highway from Charleston Boulevard to Gibson Road and the entire resort corridor.

High rises also would be allowed in patchy areas off Maryland Parkway, Flamingo Road, Paradise Road and Tropicana Avenue near the Strip, and off St. Rose Parkway next to Henderson.

Not all areas would be treated the same. Under the tiered system proposed by the county, high rises could go to 100 feet along Las Vegas Boulevard by right, but with the county commission's approval could go as high as the developer could design -- subject to FAA approval.

However, other areas would be limited to 200 feet or 100 feet along Boulder Highway, St. Rose Parkway, the Las Vegas Beltway or Blue Diamond Road.

Adjacent to residential areas, buildings would only be allowed up to 50 feet -- and at four or five stories, wouldn't fit the popular description of a high rise, but a handful of such areas are identified on the county's map of the overlay zones.

Allison, who presented the plan at meetings of the Clark County Growth Management Task Force and Spring Valley Town Advisory Board Tuesday, said developers would still be able to ask for higher buildings outside the overlay zones if they held commercial "C-2" or resort "H-1" zoning.

"There are opportunities for mixed use outside the overlay," Allison said.

He said a series of meetings with stakeholders, among them developers and community activists, showed that there was support for at least the possibility of going higher outside the overlay zones.

"That's why we left C-2 and H-1 alone," Allison said. However, developers would still have to come before the county commission for approval for high rises in those zoning areas, and commissioners could take into account the fact that the areas were outside the overlay zones when making their discretionary decisions.

"What we're trying to achieve with this is some kind of predictability," he said.

Allison said among the factors considered in creating the overlay were job concentrations, existing development patterns and mass transit availability.

Not everyone embraced the new overlay zones.

Jane Feldman, an activist with the local arm of the Sierra Club and also a growth task force member, chided the county planners for failing to provide more opportunities for high rises along the existing Union Pacific railroad line that runs from Henderson, along the west side of the Strip and on to downtown Las Vegas.

She noted that the Regional Transportation Commission plans to use the rail line to provide a light-rail commuter service linking Henderson to the Strip and downtown.

Allison said that within the jurisdiction of the county, there were few places that are not already developed along the rail line. The plan, he said, does not extend to the cities of Las Vegas or Henderson.

"This is a classic example of why we need regional planning here," Feldman responded.

Sue Allen, a residential activist, president of the South West Action Network and a member of the growth task force, said the county failed to provide enough public notice about the high-rise plans. The overlay areas along Blue Diamond Road cut through the heart of areas over which Allen and her allies have fought zoning battles.

"There are going to be a lot of people who are going to want to be involved," she said. "They are going to think you were trying to pull a fast one. What you're proposing is huge."

As the Spring Valley Town Advisory Board voted Tuesday night to recommend approval for the mixed-use plan, Bill Curran, an attorney representing Spring Valley property owners, was also annoyed with the amount of public notice.

Curran said he received the 60-page plan only Tuesday afternoon.

"We think people should have a chance to review," he said. "We may be in total support, but at this point we haven't had a chance to study it."

Barbara Ginoulias, Clark County Comprehensive Planning director, said those with concerns about the plan would have opportunities to provide input to or protest the high rise plan.

The proposed ordinance is now slated to be introduced at the county commission's Dec. 8 meeting. If directed by the commission, the planning department would seek additional citizen input into the plan, Ginoulias said.