Latest news with #Jauregui
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Developers, conservationists clash over bill to sell public land for housing
The Clark County Lands Bill would open 25,000 acres of public land in Southern Nevada to development. (Photo courtesy Kyle Roerink) Housing developers and conservation advocates clashed over a bill Thursday that would encourage the federal government to open thousands of acres of public land in Clark County for development, a move critics say will encourage sprawl and supporters argue would lower housing costs. Assembly Joint Resolution 10, a non-binding statement of support sponsored by Democratic Sen. Sandra Jauregui of Las Vegas, urges the federal government to prioritize the passage of the Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, colloquially known as the Clark County Lands Bill, which would open 25,000 acres of public land in Southern Nevada to development. The federal legislation is sponsored by Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto in the Senate and Democrat Susie Lee and Republican Mark Amodei in the House. Thursday was the first time state lawmakers held a public hearing for the resolution, which drew criticism from conservation groups and Nevada residents who spoke in opposition of the measure. Despite forgoing a public hearing, the bill passed the Assembly in April with only six members opposing it, all Democrats. During the Senate Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections hearing Thursday, supporters of the measure told lawmakers the release of public land would spur the construction of affordable housing, but critics argued the measure does not guarantee housing affordability and would only encourage unsustainable urban sprawl and exacerbate water scarcity. Jauregui said there is a severe housing shortage in Nevada, leading to skyrocketing rents and home prices. Jauregui pointed to a 2022 report from Applied Analysis put together for the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association that found the region could exhaust all available land for development in seven years if current construction trends continue. 'This housing epidemic isn't just about a housing supply shortage, but also a land shortage,' Jauregui said. Several housing developers and business interests spoke in support of the resolution Thursday, including the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association, Builders Association of Northern Nevada, Nevada State Apartment Association, and the Greater Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. The Nevada Republican Party, City of Henderson, Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority and the Nevada Rural Housing Authority also spoke in support of the resolution. Nevada faces a shortage of 80,000 affordable rental homes for extremely low-income residents, according to the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority. 'This is not about unchecked expansion. It's about strategic, responsible growth that allows our communities to meet the real needs of families, seniors and essential workers,' said Mindy Elliot, a lobbyist speaking on behalf of the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority and the Nevada Rural Housing Authority. Jauregui acknowledged that just opening public land to development would not be enough to address rising housing costs in southern Nevada. She advocated for the resolution in combination with other housing bills she is sponsoring, including Assembly Bill 241, which would encourage more infill development in urban areas. For nearly an hour, advocates and Nevada residents spoke in opposition to the resolution during public comments. Several took the opportunity to castigate Democrats in the Assembly for failing to hold a public hearing before passing the resolution. The Senate panel also came under criticism for scheduling the Thursday hearing at the last minute. The resolution's opponents cited concerns about water scarcity, utility costs, urban sprawl, and the urban heat island effect — a phenomenon that creates higher temperatures in cities due to an abundance of superheating man-made surfaces like roads and pavement. Some residents expressed concern about the financial burden on taxpayers to fund new infrastructure, services, and roads in low-density suburbs if the resolution passed. During the hearing, critics of the resolution also pointed out that the Clark County Lands Bill does not specifically set aside any land for affordable housing, meaning there is no guarantee any of the released land will result in lower housing costs. Jauregui refuted arguments that the Clark County Lands Bill would not create affordable housing, pointing to Ovation Development Corp's affordable senior housing project being built on land that had belonged to the federal government before it was released to the City of Las Vegas. 'It took five years for this land to transfer from the [Bureau of Land Management]. This new act will streamline the process that allows for these types of affordable housing developments to happen and to happen faster,' Jauregui said. Organizations opposed to the resolution included the Great Basin Water Network, Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition, Sierra Club, Make the Road Nevada, and the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. Conservation groups argued that infill development of existing neighborhoods is a better solution than development on parcels sprawling along the metro area's edges where federal land would be privatized. Development would exacerbate water scarcity, increase urban sprawl, and worsen housing inequities. An analysis by the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada found that around 80,000 acres of vacant or underused land in Southern Nevada's urban core — more acreage than the entire City of Henderson — could be developed for housing near public transit and existing infrastructure. Olivia Taniger, the director of the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter, argued the resolution would undermine attempts to promote infill and public transportation development. 'Folks don't want housing out in Jean. They don't want resources taken away from their communities in East Las Vegas when folks already struggle to get around on public transportation,' Tangier said. She argued much of the public land released by the Clark County Lands Bill would likely be sold for warehouses and manufacturing rather than housing. Kyle Roerink, the executive director of the Great Basin Water Network, highlighted the cost of urban sprawl on water resources in the state. Roerink pointed to research that the Colorado River's flow has shrunk by about 20% since 2000, with further declines projected due to climate change. 'Are you willing to tell your constituents that you support inviting another 800,000 people to the region with Lake Mead sitting at 33 percent full? That's what you need to consider with this legislation,' Roerink said. A joint study by Clark County and the City of Henderson found that development under the Clark County Lands Bill could increase daily water demand by 49 million gallons, or about 18% of Nevada's total allocation from the Colorado River. Democratic Rep. Dina Titus, who represents much of east Las Vegas and Henderson along with the Las Vegas Strip, spoke out against the Clark County Lands Bill to state legislators last month. No action was taken on the resolution. The resolution will need to pass in the State Senate by May 23 before being sent to the governor's desk for final approval. Unlike bills, Nevada resolutions don't require approval from the governor. But Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo has repeatedly advocated the sale of federally managed lands to developers. Last month, Lombardo signed a data sharing agreement with the Bureau of Land Management to help facilitate the privatization of federal land.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Commercial property seen as possible solution to shortage of land for housing
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A failed Kmart store on Spring Mountain Road seemed like a good opportunity — one of many — to a Nevada lawmaker looking for housing solutions in Las Vegas. Zoning laws that are barriers now could be changed to accommodate redevelopment. 'Rezoning commercial property for multifamily housing is a practical and immediate solution to increase housing supply and address affordability issues,' Democratic Assembly Majority Leader Sandra Jauregui said on Wednesday as she presented Assembly Bill 241 in the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor. AB241 previously passed the Assembly on a 28-14 vote on April 17. The bill seeks to encourage infill development and overcome the shrinking availability of land for new construction. It would promote mixed-use development that could lead to more apartments available — seen as workforce housing, the type of units that are affordable for workers. Often, the places that could be repurposed are already convenient to transportation and shopping. Jauregui wants the change to open up the possibility of a larger housing supply. Everyone deserves housing, she said. 'We're missing certain elements to hit that target,' Republican State Sen. Skip Daly said. Developers are focused on building to the 'highest best use' in any project they do, he said, and hoping that it is developed as affordable housing will require more control. Jauregui said it's a balancing act. 'I do want every commercially zoned property to be able to be used for mixed use and multifamily,' she said. 'They're also going to build what's going to sell or what's going to be rented, right? They're not going to put in luxury condos at the Kmart at Spring Mountain and Rainbow.' The bill would require counties and cities to accommodate mixed-use development on commercially zoned property. Local governments would maintain control over decisions about the projects that move forward. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Legislative proposals would nudge, aid municipalities toward infill development
Infill development advocates argue vacant office buildings, vacant land, and even parking lots are underutilized. (Photo: Hugh Jackson/Nevada Current) Tens of thousands of square feet of vacant lots and commercial properties sit empty in the Las Vegas and Reno metro areas. Proposed legislation attempts to help tackle the state's housing crisis by establishing a process to rezone them as residential. State lawmakers are considering multiple proposals that would empower cities to more aggressively encourage infill development to address Nevada's shortage of affordable and available units. Assembly Bill 241, sponsored by Democratic Assemblymember Sandra Jauregui, is designed to spark development of more multi-family housing, and require counties to speed up the process to rezone land currently designated commercial use into residential or mixed use. 'Many commercial properties, particularly aging strip malls and vacant office buildings, are underutilized,' Jauregui said during the bill's hearing in March. 'Repurposing them for housing makes better use of existing infrastructure. Building homes closer to jobs, schools and public transit reduces commute times, lowers greenhouse gas emissions and decreases urban sprawl.' The bill, which passed the Assembly on a party line vote earlier this month, is directed toward the state's most populous counties, Clark and Washoe, and would give them until Oct. 1, 2026 to adopt an ordinance that allows for a more expedited rezoning process. Under the legislation, if a buyer purchases a commercial property and wants to build multi-family housing on it instead, they could seek swift approval rather than go through a lengthy rezoning process, Jauregui said. A recent analysis by the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern and the regional planning collaborative known as Southern Nevada Strong identified 78,285 acres as 'vacant or underutilized land,' most of it — 85% — vacant. The bill is scheduled to be heard Wednesday in the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee. The legislation's supporters included theNevada Conservation Leaguethe Nevada State Apartment Association. However, the Nevada Association of Counties along with Clark and Washoe County opposed the legislation. 'There are some commercial areas where multi-family or mixed-use (zoning) may not be appropriate,' said Ashley Kennedy, a lobbyist with Clark County, adding the county wants to retain 'the ability at the local level to determine' when to quickly rezone without state legislation mandating it. Kennedy said that the county supports infill development and hasn't denied any application for a multi-family project since 2022. She added that during that timeframe there were 39 applications for multi-family projects approved, and 21 of those applications were in commercially zoned areas.' Cadence Matijevich, a lobbyist with Washoe County, warned the bill would produce 'unintended consequences' and could 'upset the balance of land use in our community' by requiring some commercial projects to be rezoned as residential. 'Nevada cannot afford to let outdated zoning laws and people who oppose density continue to be the reason we are stalling housing production,' Jauregui said. Efforts to promote infill development come as state lawmakers, some members of Nevada's Congressional delegation and Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo have pushed for stepped up sales of federal land development. Assembly Joint Resolution 10, also sponsored by Jauregui, would ask the federal government to pass the Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, commonly referred to as the Clark County Lands Bill. The bill passed the Assembly 36-6 April 17. Six Democrats Assemblymembers, Natha Anderson, Venicia Considine, Tanya Flanagan, Selena La Rue Hatch, Cinthia Moore, and Howard Watts, voted against the resolution. Democratic Rep. Dina Titus recently took issue with state lawmakers voting for the resolution and denounced the federal bill, saying nothing in the legislation mandates that any of the land must be dedicated to affordable housing. The bill would only make land available 'to developers to build more homes that average Nevadans cannot afford,' Titus said. AB 241 isn't the only bill that could lead to more infill development. Senate Bill 28, legislation being brought by the City of Las Vegas, would create 'tax increment areas' in which a portion of future property tax revenue would be used to pay interest on bonds used to finance affordable housing development as well as public transit. Much of the city's development over the next 25 years 'will consist of infill and redevelopment within existing neighborhoods, Seth Floyd, Director of Community Development for the City of Las Vegas, told the Senate Government Affairs Committee during a hearing on the bill in lawmakers during the bill's hearing in March.' SB 28 passed the Senate 17-4 on April 17. Republican Sens. Carrie Ann Buck, Robin Titus, Ira Hansen and John Ellison voted against the bill. Lawmakers are also considering allocating general fund dollars to aid housing development, including $250 million proposed by Lombardo. Any proposal seeking to allocate any funding could face serious setbacks after the Economic Forum meets Thursday, when it will set final budget limits that legislators and the governor must meet when they approve a budget for the upcoming biennium. Uncertainty and anxiety driven by Donald Trump's trade war and the resulting fallout have prompted widespread projections of not only a slowing economy, with many observers projecting the chance of a recession has increased substantially in recent weeks. Assembly Bill 366, sponsored by Democratic Assemblymember Daniele Monroe-Moreno, would appropriate $25 million from the state general fund to supportive housing initiatives throughout the state. The Nevada Housing Division would determine the projects eligible to receive those dollars. Permanent supportive housing projects are subsidized for populations with significantly low or no income, such as folks experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, and comes with case management and wrap-around support services. Brooke Page, the Nevada director of the Corporation for Supportive Housing, said funding supportive housing for unhoused people is more cost effective than the alternative. The organization conducted an analysis for Northern Nevada last year that found eight days in the emergency room, three months in jail, and one year in supportive housing with rental assistance and warp around services all cost the same. Page said. 'It makes more sense to house people, ensure they have the services they need to improve their mental health, their physical health, and gain access to employment than it does to continue to allow people to cycle in and out of high-cost systems,' she said. Not only do developers struggle to find financing for supportive housing, funding for operational support and tenant services is also limited. State lawmakers in 2023 allocated $30 million from the state's general fund to permanent supportive housing projects. AB 366 seeks to strengthen the program.. During its first hearing in March, Monroe-Moreno said though the state 'doesn't have any money' allocating funds for permanent supportive housing was a priority Lombardo also identified during his budget proposal, she said. The bill has not advanced out of its first house but is exempt from legislative deadlines.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NV Energy cites outages, dangerous line work as bill outlawing balloon releases progresses
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — When the power went out on Sunday, March 2, for more than 10,000 customers in downtown Las Vegas, the lights were out for a little over an hour. The culprit? A balloon, according to an NV Energy official who spoke at the Nevada Legislature Monday. 'Just in the past five years alone, balloon-related incidents have caused over 400 outages impacting hundreds of thousands of customers,' Anthony Ruiz, NV Energy's government relations manager, told lawmakers during a hearing on Assembly Bill 194 (AB194). Those outages affected about 600,000 people, he said. Ruiz said there are also problems associated with regular balloons, often overshadowed by risks from Mylar balloons. He said regular balloons can melt into the power lines, requiring dangerous cleanup by a line worker. A ban on balloon releases aims at what Democratic Assem. Sandra Jauregui described as a safety hazard with a wide impact. 'When released, balloons frequently end up as litter in waterways or natural habitats where they harm wildlife and contribute to microplastic pollution. Mylar balloons, in particular, are nonbiodegradable and can cause power outages or fires when they come into contact with power lines,' Jauregui said. Even with all the publicity about Mylar balloons, a lot of people are unaware of the risks of power lines arcing when foil balloons come into contact. Republican State Sen. Lisa Krasner asked, 'If a child on their birthday intentionally releases one balloon to watch it fly up into the air, are they now in violation of this law?' Jauregui said that's not the intent of the legislation, which has been approved in the Assembly and was receiving a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. 'The goal of the bill isn't to like find people and fine them. It's more about prevention,' Jauregui said. 'It's about getting the education out there.' AB194 contains exemptions for hot-air balloons, weather balloons and other scientific research balloons, and indoor balloon releases. The bill builds on AB321, which was signed into law in 2023. That law phases in restrictions on foil balloons beginning in 2027 and takes full effect in 2030. AB321 carries fines of $50 per balloon, with a maximum $2,500 fine. This year's ban on balloon releases carries a $250 fine. But that's not really what lawmakers are focused on, Jauregui said. 'Ultimately, we don't enforce the laws. It would be up to the local law enforcement agency,' she said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmaker calls out Realtors Association for flip-flopping on senior rent stabilization bill
Assemblymember Sandra Jauregui called the Realtors's reversal this session 'deeply disappointing,' since the group helped craft provisions of effectively identical legislation two years ago. (Photo: Richard Bednarski/Nevada Current) The Nevada Realtors Association hopes to kill legislation that authorizes one year of rent stabilization for seniors and puts modest regulations on the collection of rental application fees, despite backing the same bill in the previous legislative session. Assembly Bill 280, which passed out of the Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee last week on a party line vote, revives a similar effort from 2023 to limit landlords from raising rents more than 5% on tenants 62 years or older or relies on Social Security payments through the end of 2026. This year's bill, sponsored by Democratic Assemblymember Sandra Jauregui, also requires landlords to refund application fees if they don't screen a tenant who applied for the unit. Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed the 2023 version of the bill saying the legislation was admirable but 'needlessly heavy-handed in its approach.' Nevada Realtors, who typically oppose expanded tenant protections, backed the bill during the 2023 session. Keith Lynam, president of the Nevada Realtors during that time, and Jonathan Norman, the statewide advocacy, outreach and policy director for the Nevada Coalition of Legal Service Providers, helped present alongside Jauregui that year. In 2023, Lyman called the bill 'common sense solutions to affordable housing for those who are leasing and renting homes,' Jauregui noted while describing the bill to the committee during last month's hearing. He gave his full-throated support of the bill, she added. The bill's intent stayed the same. The Nevada Realtors' position changed. Azim Jessa, a lobbyist for Nevada Realtors, told lawmakers the group changed its opinion because of 'market statistics' that showed 'the average rental price for a single family home dropped 5.9%.' Rent prices have soared drastically since 2020, with elected officials noting rents spiked between 20% and 30% within the first two years of the pandemic. Jauregui called the association's reversal this session 'deeply disappointing,' especially since it was the association, along with legal aid, who worked for months to craft the provisions of the 2023 bill. When AB 280 was first heard in March, it originally sought the same 2023 provision that limited landlords from increasing rents on seniors living on fixed incomes by more than 10%. Jauregui said during the March 26 bill hearing that while she thought a 10% cap was too high, the limit was included out of 'a consensus' and the language was agreed upon by both the Realtors Association and legal aid groups. Between that hearing and committee passing AB 280 last week, Jauregui amended the language to reduce the cap to 5% because 'there is a party who did not negotiate in good faith.' Jauregui said the bill is still a pilot program that would allow lawmakers to assess its effectiveness. 'The key is that we take action now rather than allow seniors and those on fixed incomes to continue suffering, face eviction or end up homeless,' she said. Though Lombardo vetoed the bill in 2023, his message didn't mention anything about the temporary rent stabilization it sought for seniors and those relying on federal assistance. At the time, he wrote that the bill 'is an unreasonable restraint on standard business activity' and the legislation would prevent landlords 'from collecting, and retaining, any fee related to the rental of a dwelling unit.' AB 280, like its 2023 version, seeks to prevent landlords from collecting application fees even when they don't use the money to screen tenants. 'If ten applications come in for one unit and the first application is taken, then the fees for the other nine would have to be returned,' Jauregui said. 'Any hard costs wouldn't have to be returned.' The legislation would also require landlords to include an appendix in the lease listing fees that can be charged. Ben Iness, the coalition coordinator for the Nevada Housing Justice Alliance, said the bill doesn't go far enough. The coalition testified in neutral. 'In terms of scope and applicability, we would love to see this applied to all Nevadans,' he said. 'A lot of the comments focus on supply and demand and ignore things like RealPage that interfere with the market.' RealPage, a rental pricing software firm, was accused of colluding with corporate landlords to use algorithms to collect lease transaction data in order to artificially inflate rents via price fixing. The company has denied wrongdoing. The allegation against the company, as well as other property management companies, has resulted in lawsuits across the country and legislative efforts to rein in the practice. In the absence of regulation to prevent rent price fixing, Iness said the market isn't fair for renters. 'Rent stabilization makes sure things stay attainable, accessible and affordable,' he said.
