IN ATTENDANCE:
Mayor Michael Montandon, Chair, City of North Las Vegas
Mayor Oscar Goodman, City of Las Vegas
Mayor James Gibson, City of Henderson
Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, Clark County
Commissioner Erin Kenny, Clark County
Mark Morse, Bureau of Land Management
Colonel Bob Lynn, Nellis Air Force Base
The meeting of the SNRPC Federal Lands Disposal Subcommittee was called to order by City of North Las Vegas Mayor, Michael Montandon, Chairman, at 2:25 p.m., Tuesday, September 26, 2000, in the Joshua Conference Room, 6th Floor, at the Clark County Government Center, 500 S. Grand Central Parkway, Las Vegas, Nevada, 89106.
The agenda for the September 26, 2000, meeting was duly posted in compliance with the Open Meeting Law.
A motion was made to approve the September 26, 2000, agenda. This motion was approved unanimously.
Mayor Gibson commented on having backup material distributed with the agenda to allow the members to be better prepared for the meetings. He also requested that all items that are to be heard
by the Federal Lands Disposal Subcommittee be first heard by the SNRPC Technical Committee and forwarded to the Federal Lands Disposal Subcommittee with recommendations.
A motion was made to approve the minutes of the June 29, 2000, meeting. This motion was approved unanimously.
Jackie Risner, City of North Las Vegas, informed the members that the City of North Las Vegas (CNLV) requested to have placed on today's agenda a presentation of their May 2001 land nominations. Therefore, the members agreed to proceed beginning with the land nominations for May 2001 from the CNLV. Ms. Risner distributed two maps (Exhibits A & B) to each member. Exhibit A depicted the CNLV, with a 7500-acre area outlined in red. Ms. Risner stated that the CNLV has negotiated with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the release of approximately 12 to 1400 net acres that will be auctioned in May 2001. Referring to Exhibit B, Ms. Risner stated that it depicted a conceptual master plan created by PBSJ to present to the BLM the City of North Las Vegas' idea for the land. She stated that the Plan might not develop as depicted on the map. Ms. Risner stated that the CNLV has negotiated with the BLM to include RMPP land that would be necessary to take out in the initial sell. The BLM will account for that in the appraisal process, which allows greater flexibility when the developer presents his master plan. Mayor Montandon stated that the initial work done on this project, which included data gathering, gives an idea of how a property of this size will develop. This initial work has allowed the CNLV to generate water and sewer distribution engineering, flood control, parks and recreation, and school master planning. In their initial negotiations with the BLM, the provisions within the law to identify the acreage necessary for all recreational and public purposes, including the beltway, is approximately 500+ acres that would have been allocated. However, if the developer wants to move certain items, the process would be too difficult and time consuming. Therefore, the BLM proposed a RMPP agreement. This agreement would allow the entire piece of land to be sold and the buyer would, in his planning process, designate a certain amount of acres for schools, parks, fire, police, etc. However, the acreage would remain the same at about 500, also the documents would state that the developer is not actually buying the acreage but plan around it. Mayor Montandon stated that the agreement seems to be working and will reduce the time of the entitlement period after the development is completed. As for development, Mayor Montandon stated that they anticipate that the project will be very similar to Southern Highlands in that yes the developer can sell to sub-developers, but not until they put in approximately $100 million dollars in infrastructure. Mr. Morris stated that this agreement process is new for the BLM. He stated that there would be other parcels other than the CNLV land auctioned at the May 2001 sale. Normally the land that did not sell at a previous sale would be
auctioned at the next sale. However, this will not be the case at the May and November 2001 sale. Approximately 27 new parcels will be auctioned in addition to the North Las Vegas parcel; however the CNLV parcel will be the centerpiece in the May sale. If the CNLV land does not sell in May the land will be reevaluated to determine what changes are needed.
Continuing with the November 2001 sale, Ron Gregory, Clark County, distributed a packet (Exhibit C) which listed Clark County's land nominations and reservations. Mr. Gregory stated that Clark County negotiated the ability to make adjustments for the May 2001 sale; however, in order to do this some parcels were dropped that may be moved to a future sale. Referring to Exhibit A, Mr. Gregory presented the new properties that have been nominated for sale. Referring to a Las Vegas Valley map, Mr. Gregory stated that most are five-acre parcels located in section 10. With the approval of the Board of Clark County Commissioners, Clark County has two nominations for the November 2001 sale, which is also an amendment. The 710 acres listed in Exhibit A comprises section 7 and the northwest corner of section 18. Individuals have indicated that they own the mineral rights and mining claims on the property and wanted the County to nominate the property. The land was included in the joint selection process but has not yet been presented to the Board of Clark County Commissioners. He stated that a large portion of the land is steeply sloped; therefore, the actual land that is available for development is approximately 350 acres. Clark County is nominating a total of 816 acres. Through the joint selection process Clark County asked the affected agencies to identify lands that they need for public purposes, which are lands within Clark County that each of the agencies need for public purpose. Mr. Gregory stated that Clark County is trying to encourage the affected agencies to not look to the next list that comes out, but to plan for what is needed in the future, in the near future, and far into the future. Mr. Gregory distributed a document entitled Clark County Nominations for BLM Land Sales (Exhibit D). This document reflects the changes that were made after the Clark County Board of Commissioners authorized the Department of Comprehensive Planning to institute a "demand based" process to assign sale dates for the BLM lands in established Rural Neighborhood Preservation Areas. For the May 2001 sale, 25 parcels totaling 97.5 acres are nominated and 86 acres for the November 2001 sale. Mr. Gregory stated that the BLM would probably require the group who has requested the nomination to relinquish their mineral and mining claim rights before placing it in the sale to diminish anyone from having an "edge" and to keep the process competitive.
Each member received a copy of a map that outlined the City of Las Vegas' land nominations (Exhibit E). Scott Albright, City of Las Vegas, stated that the City of Las Vegas would be nominating 7 parcels totaling approximately 35 acres. Most of the parcels are currently within the City's service area, but in unincorporated Clark County. In accordance with the agreed interlocal signed in April 2000 between Clark County and the City of Las Vegas, the City Council and the Board of County Commissioners would have to approve the parcels for release. Referring to a map, Mr. Albright stated that two areas have been identified. One is the Lone Mountain west area and the other is the Town Center expansion area. The goal is to make the plan more concise. Staff has developed a plan that identifies a series of priorities and disposal boundaries. Each disposal area has been prioritized and will be nominated based on the desirability at that time.
Bristol Ellington, City of Henderson, distributed a document packet that outlined the potential nominations for the Fall 2001, BLM land sale (Exhibit F) consisting of one parcel. Mr. Ellington stated that in January 1999, the City of Henderson entered into an interlocal agreement with Clark County, that identifies land within unincorporated Clark County, but within the service boundary of Henderson, for land that is eligible for annexation into the Henderson corporate boundary. It is a total of 6000 acres, approximately 13 square miles. The City of Henderson annexed approximately 5500 acres into their city limits in August 2000. The City of Henderson have met with a series of master plan developers who are interested in developing in the area or who are experts in the field. The one parcel of approximately 1200 - 1400 acres will be identified prior to the deadline date for the November 1 auction.
Mayor Gibson stated that the timing issue to Henderson's release is very important; therefore, he asked Richard Lee representing 1st A.M. Title, to make comments. Mr. Lee stated Las Vegas is facing a quality of life housing issue that is becoming very serious. Over the last 10 years there has been a 3-4 percent increase in the sale of a new home. Affordable housing in Las Vegas has contributed to the thriving economy; however, the Kippling Report reported that a new home averaging $100,000 in Las Vegas would be double what it is today in 10 years. The majority of people who live here cannot afford to buy a $200,000 home because the gaming wages are not going to double in 10 years. A very important issue that we all should be aware of when considering master planning and the growth of the city, is that there is a shortage of land. Over the last 10 years there has been a 3% increase in the cost of a new home in Las Vegas. So far in this year, 2000, there has been a 10.5% increase in the cost of a new home in Las Vegas. This could result into a trend that cannot be turned around. Mr. Lee stated that the Federal Lands Subcommittee should be cautious and concerned about limiting property or becoming a developer and limiting the demand in the free market place. The big builders are very concerned about possibly running out of property to sell houses. Mr. Lee stated that there is simply not enough land on the market to maintain the quality of life that we currently have for those people who want to live here and purchase a home.
After discussion regarding the BLM maximizing profit, a motion was made to accept the nominations as presented. This motion was approved unanimously.
Mr. Gregory stated that a as reaction to the June 2000 sale, Clark County has determined that the land nominations in rural neighborhood preservation areas will be placed in the sale on a demand- only basis.
No action was taken on this item.
Jory Stewart, Clark County, stated that there is a substantial area in the Southwest area that did not sell at the June 2000 BLM auction. Referring to a map in the meeting room, Ms. Stewart pointed out specific areas on the map where she stated that, based on past land use trends, it is predicted that a geographic trend will occur in the area for a higher demand of development. She stated that a public facilities needs analysis is currently being conducted for the area to get a better idea, over time, of what the absorption would be. The Restrepo Consulting Group has been contracted to do a moderate amount of village typing in a regional context so that it is better understood how to optimize the absorption and how to better time the selection of lands for nomination. The study is expected to be complete in December 2000. Commissioner Kenny raised a question regarding there being no checks and balances system when the same consultant, Restrepo, is used by several entities. Ms. Stewart stated that Clark County uses this consultant because he is local and has already done a lot of the base line data analysis that could be built from. Commissioner Kenny stated caution should be used when it comes to something this important that more than one particular person's view should be considered.
After discussion, no action was taken on this item.
A motion was made to continue this item until the next meeting. This motion was approved unanimously.
Mr. Morse informed the members that, as part of the process, the Resource Advisory Council will be reviewing state-wide resources for the special account allocation that has been put forward. A meeting is scheduled for October 26 and 27, 2000, in Mesquite, Nevada.
Donna Gamble, City of North Las Vegas, was directed to coordinate a date and time for the next meeting to be held in approximately three months. This would be in early January 2001.
Mayor Goodman stated that, judging from the discussion in today's meeting, there seems to be a problem with Federal legislation regarding BLM land. Consideration should be given to some type of committee or delegation to staff to see if some of the problems can be addressed concerning the community acquiring land in balance to the economics. The members agreed to place this on their next agenda.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:40 p.m.