Las Vegas City Council votes to retain term limits for planning commissioners

By Dave Toplikar

Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011 | 12:15 p.m.

Despite recent discussion to remove them, term limits will be kept for Las Vegas planning commissioners, according to action taken today by the Las Vegas City Council.

But under that action, planning commissioners won't be able to serve any more than 12 years total.

The council approved the matter on a vote of 6-1, with Councilman Steve Ross voting against.

Ross explained that he was against the measure because he thought the city was spending too much staff time on the effort to change the ordinance.

The change, which was proposed by Councilman Ricki Y. Barlow, will extend the term limits for planning commissioners from two four-year terms to three four-year terms.

Planning commissioners are appointed by each individual council member and confirmed by the full council.

However, Barlow pointed out, the existing city ordinance allows that planning commissioners serve only two consecutive terms. So if a city council member was re-elected to a third term, he or she wouldn't be able to keep the same planning commissioner.

At the last council meeting, Barlow had proposed an ordinance removing the term limits on a planning commissioner. However, the idea of removing term limits drew fire from both Ross and Mayor Pro Tem Stavros Anthony, who argued in favor of keeping term limits for planning commissioners.

Barlow told the council that he took the arguments into consideration and proposed a different solution this week.

Under the change, planning commissioners could serve a total of 12 years as a way for a city council member to keep the same planning commissioner, if that council member was elected to a third four-year term.

Anthony, who had opposed removing term limits, said he thought the idea made sense to him. He voted in favor of it.

There is one other change in the ordinance. In the previous ordinance, a planning commissioner could serve two four-year terms, then leave the planning commission, then be reappointed to it for another two four-year terms.

The new ordinance puts a cap on the time that can be served on the council to 12 years.