Growth panel approves final report

David Kihara

Friday, April 1, 2005 | 9 a.m.

The Clark County Growth Task Force on Thursday formally approved the sustainable growth report it will present to the Clark County Commission next week, effectively completing the yearlong project to create solutions for the county's rapid growth issues.

The 170-plus report recommends, among many things, using cleaner-burning fuel vehicles, expanding mass transit in accordance with developing areas and pushing for mixed-use developments that include affordable housing.

The 17-member group has been meeting for one year and, in often spirited discussions, debated growth issues in the county. The task force's work will be officially completed after it presents the report to the county commissioners on Tuesday.

The chairman of the group, former UNLV president Pat Goodall, praised the work of the task force.

"I'm very pleased and very impressed with how the group worked together," said Leonard "Pat" Goodall, chairman of the task force and former president of UNLV. "They all came together in a productive way."

Goodall, however, said that the final report does not present a solution to every growth problem in the county, and is not a definitive solution to the complex issue of managing growth in Clark County.

Nonetheless, he praised the task force's findings and its ability to whittle down the long list of problems and focus on five or six issues, such as affordable housing.

Task force member Robert Lewis, who represented the Urban Land Institute, also held the other members in high esteem but said the report merely "scratches the surface" of managing growth issues in the county.

"I hope people will look at this as a starting point for the Board of Clark County Commissioners," he said.

Goodall and Lewis' praise of their colleagues was echoed by many of the task force members, including Bill Bible, head of the Nevada Resort Association.

"It was very successful," said Bible, referring to the yearlong process of creating the sustainable growth recommendations.

He also commended the report itself, saying it is comprehensive and will help in guiding the county toward developing the Las Vegas Valley with sustainability in mind.

Task force member Ngai Pindell, who teaches at UNLV's William S. Boyd School of Law, said the task force and its report will also help provide a framework which the county could use when looking at growth issues in the future.

The report essentially establishes policies that the county can address now and can be used when addressing growth issues in the future, Pindell said.