Strategic Plan to Address Growth in Southern Nevada

Critical Issue: Governance

At one of the initial meetings of the Authority, Senator Dina Titus, Assemblywoman Chris Guinchuliani, and County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury addressed the panel to promote each of their ideas and opinions with respect to regional governance alternatives. They also stated their thoughts on the critical areas facing Southern Nevada, and some suggestions on which the Authority should focus its efforts.

The Authority further tackled the issue of Governance by bringing in both local and national experts in the areas of growth management, government financing, and regional planning. Patricia Salkin, a nationally recognized expert in the field of regional governance, provided examples and alternatives for the Authority members to consider, and took the group through a survey exercise to gauge the Authority’s opinions on this issue. Each Authority member took on the assignment of getting feedback on the same survey from their respective constituencies. At a subsequent meeting, a general consensus was reached that Southern Nevada would best be served by a voluntary, cooperative regional planning body which would have responsibility for addressing regional issues in an ongoing, comprehensive way.

A key to continuing to meet the challenges of Southern Nevada’s growth will be to provide a legal and institutional framework within which those needs are met expeditiously and in a fiscally responsible manner. The most commonly held opinion seems to be that a regional entity is needed that would allow the local entities to collaborate on issues of mutual concern without infringing upon the autonomy of individual communities.

As an additional component to the regional, voluntary governance framework, local jurisdictions, as they have for many years, should continue to use interlocal agreements as mechanisms for delivering services across jurisdictional boundaries. An example of voluntary regional collaboration that occurred during the life of the Authority, is the cooperative development of a comprehensive water quality plan for the Las Vegas Wash and Lake Mead currently underway.

Governance Recommendations

Immediate Local Action
The Authority supports the creation of the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition, or similar entity, as a means of promoting effective voluntary collaboration among the local entities. This regional entity can:

• Provide oversight and coordination of infrastructure funding and development. (Although the Authority supports the most appropriate form of inter-jurisdictional collaboration, whether a regional entity, voluntary cooperative agreements, or other form, to fund, construct and maintain infrastructure.) The regional entity’s role should include a periodic review of whether existing revenue streams are being optimized from a broad community perspective rather than the current practice of allocating revenues project by project or entity by entity.
• Encourage local governments in the Las Vegas Valley to:
  a) adopt land use plans and policies consistent with the expected population growth of the region; and
  b) work closely with service providers to link land use planning with capital facilities planning and programming.
• Develop regional strategies, to be adopted jointly by local governments, that:
  a) encourage development in areas where services already exist; and
  b) optimize the sharing of the costs of providing services in unserved areas between service providers and the real estate development industry.
• Design and implement a coordinated, effective land use policy and decision-making system among the local jurisdictions. This strategy includes close collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management on long-term strategies and plans for the disposal of federal lands within Clark County.

Local jurisdictions should continue to use interlocal agreements as mechanism for delivering services across jurisdictional boundaries.