Editorial: A new day for growth strategies

Friday, Jan. 30, 2004 | 5:06 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

Jan. 31 - Feb. 1, 2004

Three Clark County commissioners are taking the lead on a new way -- for Southern Nevada -- of dealing with growth. Mark James, Rory Reid and Bruce Woodbury will announce Monday at a press conference plans to begin a public dialogue on the effects of our rising population.

When the talk is over, their hope is that a middle ground will have been found. Forcibly putting an end to growth by denying building permits would put 70,000 to 100,000 people out of work as a first consequence. Housing costs and property taxes would quickly escalate. Sales tax revenue would plummet while the demand for government services -- which are funded through sales taxes -- would rise drastically. This is not a realistic vision for the future. So how do we respond to the thousands of new people arriving every month, a phenomenon that's straining our public services to the limit and adding to our water shortages and air-quality issues?

This is the question to which the County Commission is seeking an answer. It's an answer that should have been sought 15 years ago when it became obvious that Southern Nevada's growth over the past decade was a sure indicator of even greater growth ahead. Instead, local governments managed the nation-leading growth year to year. There was some long-term thinking, as in the 1990 Master Transportation Plan, which resulted in the yet-uncompleted Las Vegas Beltway, reconstruction of the Spaghetti Bowl and numerous other road projects. Frighteningly, traffic today is far worse than before the projects began. We're not keeping up, which is why a reassessment is necessary. Better late than never.

By announcing this formal review, Clark County is raising the bar on growth management. Our expectations are high. We anticipate the appointment of a citizens panel representative of the whole county and we would hope that input from the general public is taken seriously. Ultimately we're anticipating a new growth strategy, one that upholds the integrity of zoning and master plans, requires that infrastructure such as parks, schools and fire and police stations are built concurrently with approved new communities, and takes into account -- before approval -- the impact that new developments will have on all public services. We cannot now go back to the days when only determined developers and a handful of easily influenced public officials set the tone for growth.