IN ATTENDANCE:
Councilman Shari Buck, Chair, City of North Las Vegas
Councilman Joe Hardy, Vice Chair, City of Boulder City
Mayor Oscar Goodman, City of Las Vegas
Lynette Boggs McDonald, City of Las Vegas
Commissioner Myrna Williams, Clark County
Commissioner Dario Herrera, Clark County
Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers, City of Henderson
Councilman Steve Kirk, City of Henderson
Councilman William Robinson, Alternate, City of North Las Vegas
Trustee Susan Brager-Wellman, Alternate, Clark County School District
The meeting of the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition was called to order by Councilman Shari Buck, Chair, at 3:34 p.m., Thursday, May 23, 2002, in Mead Conference Room #2, at the Las Vegas Valley Water District, 1001 South Valley View, Las Vegas, Nevada, 89153.
The Agenda for the May 23, 2002, meeting was duly posted in compliance with the Open Meeting Law.
A motion was made to approve the agenda for May 23, 2002. The motion was approved unanimously.
Approval of the Minutes of the April 25, 2002, meeting.
Misty Haehn, City of North Las Vegas, informed the members that all items discussed at the Technical Committee meeting is reflected on the Coalition’s agenda today with the exception of an agenda item from the City of Las Vegas, which will be on the Coalition’s June agenda. In addition, the Homelessness Task Force item was added to today’s agenda because the Task Force met after the Technical Committee meeting was held.
Mary Kay Peck, City of Henderson, informed the members that the planning consultants met by telephone with the agencies they were scheduled to meet with in person last month, but was unable to because of the unexpected illness of Mr. Dale. The planning directors had a conference call with the planning directors to report on the status of the self assessments. The consultants reported that they have met with the entities that have completed their self assessments; however, there are a few that have not been submitted. In their review, the consultants have found that everyone made a very good-faith effort to conform. All of the entities that the consultants met with thus far are making the suggested changes to their conformity assessments. Three conformity agreements are being prepared. Ms. Peck stated that the enabling legislation requires that the Coalition review and certify all of the entities plans by July 1, 2002, to make sure that they comply with the Regional Policy Plan. The consultants will attend the Coalition’s June 2002 meeting to give a status of all the reports to enable the Coalition to certify the plans in accordance with the legislation. If there are some plans that are not certified the reason that will be that the entities have not met the required deadline to submit their plans to the consultants. The planning consultants will attend the June 13, 2002, Technical Committee meeting to explain the process for the formal conformity agreements.
A motion was made to accept the report. The motion was approved unanimously.
Jon Wardlaw, Clark County, and Ann McLaughlin-Condon, Design Workshop, gave the report. Mr. Wardlaw stated that the $250,000 grant from the EPA consists of three components. One of the components, the Regional Trails Master Plan, is complete and the second component, the Infill Development Study, is underway. The Coalition adopted a regional trails plan in 2001. The third component is the STEP Model. Mr. Wardlaw stated that the STEP Model is basically a software enhancement to TransCAD, which is the software that is used throughout the Valley to model transportation. The enhancement from the STEP Model makes the program more detailed by linking into the census. The consultants, Caliper Corporation, have prepared the interface components to run the Model. Ms. McLaughlin-Condon stated that the infill study is moving along rapidly, and the goal is to have a draft report to the staff and the Coalition in June, and a final report will be available in July. She stated that Design Workshop had a successful workshop today with a number of people participating from the development community, and redevelopment and planning staff from around the region. The attendees at the workshop were asked what are the barriers to infill in the Valley? Why there is not more infill? What type of incentives do they think are needed in order to get a more active infill and redevelopment program going? The major barriers were stated as: inflexible codes; out of date zoning that does not fit current uses; and litigation having to do with Homeowner Associations. Other responses included comments stating that the School District is unprepared for higher density infill in certain locations, the lack of physical and social infrastructure, and neighborhood resistance. One barrier was simply that there has not been a need; the economy is good, development is going well, and the area is growing. Ms. McLaughlin-Condon stated that some of the incentives that were suggested are straightforward and simple to do. They included working greater flexibility in the zoning, being more proactive about zoning, organizing government staff in such a way that infill and redevelopment projects can be facilitated, and streamline development review. She stated that as they continue to work on the project, they are looking at successful case studies from other cities, putting a specific strategy together for the Valley, and possible design solutions. Ms. Brager-Wellman made comments regarding the word “unprepared” regarding the School District. She stated that the School District is prepared.
After discussion, a motion was made to approve the report. The motion was approved unanimously.
Each member received a copy of the report entitled “Reducing Homelessness in Southern Nevada: Implementing the Five Best Ideas to Make It Happen” (Exhibit A). Bill Arent, City of Las Vegas, informed the members that the HTF met on May 20, 2002, to consider the revised report, Exhibit A. He stated that the meeting commenced with an update on current events in the community pertaining to homelessness. Clark County in conjunction with the other government entities is working on a homeless strategy called the Continuum of Care, which will be sent to HUD next month. Mr. Arent stated that Mayor Goodman informed the HTF members of the State of Nevada Mental Health Division’s decision to cancel a request for proposal for a new pilot program for persons with mental illness. Further discussion at the meeting included a proposal presented by Clark County regarding an advisory question. It is proposed that an advisory question be placed before the voters at the November 5, 2002, General Election, requesting that the Nevada Legislature pass enabling language for the HTF trust fund. The non-binding advisory question regards a tax of $.01 per $100 of assessed valuation for placement into the Homeless Services and Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The tax is projected to generate approximately 4 million dollars for a dedicated revenue source for the Trust Fund. The HTF members supported this item. Referring to Exhibit A, Mr. Arent stated that the revision in the report begins with the addition of an Executive Summary on page 5 and 6, which summarizes the entire focus of the report. In addition to the Executive Summary, the HTF reviewed the overall structure of the trust fund, implementation models, and what potential dedicated revenue sources could be provided. The governmental model was approved by the HTF by an 8-1 vote. It was discussed that in order to best move forward the governmental model should be considered. As a result, the recommendations that were contained in item 1C and 1E in the report are essentially no longer relevant, because the items were based on a non-governmental model; therefore, items 1C and 1E will be revised. The goals that were outlined in recommendation 1D, which pertain to permanent housing and supportive services are conceptually based, and can be applied once a dedicated revenue service is in place. The work group will look at revising recommendation 1C and 1E to start and initiate a governmental model trust fund. The other four strategies are approved, and do not need any revisions. Strategy four may be postponed due to the State canceling the request for proposal for the new pilot program; however, there is still an opportunity for the Coalition Board to include such a program as part of a recommended legislative package for next session.
The next HTF meeting has not yet been scheduled; however, the fourth Monday in each month seems to work for the members. Councilman Kirk stated that he was surprised when he read in the newspaper that he voted for a tax increase. The action taken by the HTF was to forward the item for further review. Councilman Kirk stated that he would like to see how much money a $.01 tax would produce and that a budget is needed in order to know how the money would be spent and whom it would serve. In addition, he has previously requested, but still has not received detailed information regarding what is currently available in the region for homeless services. After receiving comments from the Coalition members, a suggestion was made to have the Mental Health Task Force provided input into the report as it relates to the mental health portion of the document.
After discussion, a motion was made to accept the report. The motion was approved unanimously.
The SNRPC Board meeting was scheduled for June 27, 2002, at 3:30 p.m., at the Las Vegas Valley Water District.
The SNRPC Board meeting was scheduled for May 23, 2002, at 3:30 p.m., at the Las Vegas Valley Water District.
There were no public comments.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:10 p.m.