Location, height of high rises subject of new ordinances

Thursday, Jan. 6, 2005 | 8:43 a.m.

Clark County commissioners Wednesday adopted new rules governing the location, height and population density of mixed-use projects, including new high rises, but left the door open for significant changes to the rules.

The County Commission heard from more than a dozen people, including representatives of developers, who objected to some of the rules generally and specifically to the land-use "overlay" that defines where and how big their projects would be.

Commissioners Rory Reid and Lynette Boggs McDonald said that despite the concerns, some of which they were sympathetic to, the process had to move forward because of a threatening flood of requests for high rises in the unincorporated county.

"We need to start somewhere because there are so many applications coming," Reid said.

Boggs McDonald agreed.

"While not perfect and we've had concerns, (the ordinance) should be adopted today with direction to staff to bring back a corrective ordinance," she said.

The corrective ordinance could shift many of the zones created for different heights and densities, add a requirement for traffic studies before approval could be granted for a new project, and include other measures suggested during lengthy public comment Wednesday. It is scheduled to come back before the commission in two months.

The rules passed Wednesday could be amended through new ordinances or through "text amendments" passed by the commission. Both methods can take weeks to achieve because they require significant public notification not required when the county commission passes simple variances or use permits.

The new rules generally govern projects of varying height that merge residential, retail, office and other uses, often in a single high-rise building. In 2003, the county commission considered four such "urban village" mixed-use projects. The commission and county planners received applications for three dozen last year, and more are coming, planners say.

The commission directed staff to draft the ordinance in August in response to the increase in applications. County planners organized a stakeholders group to consider the issue and held numerous public meetings on the new rules.

The product of that work sets base heights and densities for four mixed-use districts. Base heights start at 35 feet, or about three stories, for projects mostly close to residential areas.

The top district allows high rises of 200 feet by right, but developers can ask for anything above that subject to County Commission and Federal Aviation Administration approval. That district is primarily concentrated on the Strip.

The ordinance passed with a 5-1 vote. Commissioner Tom Collins said he was concerned with the number of unresolved issues that will have to come back before the commission and voted against the rules.