Latest news with #SouthernNevadaRegionalHousingAuthority
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
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Infill development holds its own against urban sprawl at housing forum
Former Las Vegas Councilman Cedric Crear moderated a housing panel with Mesquite Mayor Jesse Whipple, Henderson Mayor Michelle Romero, Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley, Clark County Commissioner William McCurdy II, Boulder City Mayor Joe Hardy, and North Las Vegas Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown (Photo: Michael Lyle/Nevada Current) Local elected officials, planning and transportation representatives along with developers gathered Thursday around a central question: how do we address Southern Nevada's ongoing housing shortage? Much of the early focus at Regional Affordable Housing Forum, hosted by the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority, was directed at the longstanding request to open more federal public land in sprawling areas surrounding the Las Vegas valley as a tool to build housing. During a panel discussion, led by M.J. Maynard, the CEO with the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, around the intersection of affordable housing and transportation, the conversation focused back to infill development. 'There is also talk that we will build affordable housing in the outlying areas,' Maynard said. 'Well, there is no public transit out there. There has to be a connection between where people live, where they work and how they get there.' Nevada, like most of the nation, is experiencing an affordable housing crisis with the most extremely burdened renters unable to find places to live. There are only 17 available homes for every 100 extremely low income households making less than 30% of the area median income, $21,000 for a single person and about $32,000 for a family of four, compared to 94 available homes per 100 renter households making 100% of AMI, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. There simply aren't enough places for people to live, especially without paying more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities – the very definition of affordable housing used by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing groups and environmental groups have warned against unsustainable urban sprawl that comes from building outward. David Damore, executive director UNLV's public policy think tank Lincy Institute and Brookings Mountain West, who spoke alongside Maynard on Thursday, said research has shown outside the city limits isn't where people want to live. A survey from the National Association of Realtors showed 'you're starting to see less people want to live in the suburbs,' he said. People want to live near where they work and avoid long commutes, panelists agreed. 'The good news is that there are opportunities to do this in the urban core,' Damore said, pointing to a recent analysis by the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada and the regional planning collaborative known as Southern Nevada Strong. The plan identified around 80,000 acres of vacant or underused land in the Southern Nevada area. While a significant portion was in the urban core, he said there were also parts in Boulder City and Mesquite, Damore said. Earlier in the forum, during a panel including the mayors of Henderson, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Mesquite and Boulder City, along with Clark County Commissioner William McCurdy discussed affordable housing, Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkely acknowledged that 'it's going to be very important to infill (development) and start building up instead of out.' But that was the only instance of local elected officials mentioning infill development, the mayors focusing their discussion instead on Southern Nevada's traditional planning strategy — expanding the metro area's footprint — and reiterating support for the Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, commonly referred to as the Clark County Lands Bill. U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and U.S. Rep. Susie Lee, both Democrats, reintroduced the bill that would open 25,000 acres of public land in Southern Nevada and they say could lead to development of more affordable housing. McCurdy said during the discussion that the county has been working 'very diligently with the federal delegation and county staff to offer more amendments to that bill' including clarifications on any specific provisions around development for specific area median incomes. Democratic U.S. Rep. Dina Titus recently told Nevada Current she was opposed to the bill as written because it has no set aside for affordable housing, ' encourages expensive urban sprawl,' would create burdens on the state's limited water supply, and fails to address infrastructure needed to grow outward. Interviewed after the forum, McCurdy said he agreed infill development would better address issues that come from urban sprawl, such as helping to reduce the county's carbon footprint. He said while the county was pursuing infill development 'it isn't an either/or' when it comes to infill development versus building outside the county limits. 'At this moment we can't just say lets just do infill development and not offer the release of land to municipalities,' he said. 'We need all of it.' Maynard asked other transportation and community developer officials how they would address the housing crisis. Shani Coleman, the director of Clark County's office of Community & Economic Development, said county officials are considering ways to encourage adding residential components to commercial developments. She pointed to Commercial Center, a shopping complex along Maryland Parkway and Sahara Avenue. There currently is no housing in the center, but the county 'is talking about a masterplan that could include housing as well as transportation.' Coleman said, adding multiple other Southern Nevada commercial developments could potentially also be transformed to include housing. There is 'a sea of … shopping centers and other other complexes around here that are ripe for development, that sit already in our urban areas along our transportation corridors,' Coleman said. 'Just because you see something here right now doesn't mean that has to be the end of what that looks like.' City and county officials on their panel also praised Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo's housing bill, Assembly Bill 540. The legislation proposes to allocate $250 million in funding to build more housing and expands the definition of affordable housing to households with incomes near or above six figures. Throughout the forum, many presenters spoke about the need to build attainable housing and 'workforce housing.' 'There is something called affordable housing and something called attainable housing and the two are very different,' Maynard said at the beginning of her panel. Some officials at the forum acknowledged that as they were meeting Thursday, the state's Economic Forum determined how much to pare back the state's budget projections as a result of the hits delivered to the economy by Donald Trump's tariff policies. But none of the officials noted that diminished revenue projections projects could potentially put Lombardo's housing bill at risk. Later on in the morning, U.S. Rep. Stephen Horsford, via a video message, hammered Trump's on again, off again tariffs that have rattled markets and launched the economy toward what many observers warn is a recession. 'Because of blanket tariffs on aluminum, lumber and steel, all of which are imported from Mexico and Canada, it's compounding on the challenges we are already experiencing by driving the material costs up by another 10 to 15% and possibly as high as 25%,' Horsford said. 'This affects budgeting, timelines and ultimately who can and cannot afford a home.'
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Work begins on affordable housing meant to restore dignity in Historic Westside neighborhood
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — More affordable housing is coming to Southern Nevada. It's not just affordable housing that's needed in the valley. It's quality housing, too. 'We're about 80,000 units short of what's needed to meet the demand for affordable housing in our community,' William McCurdy II, Clark County Commissioner for District D, said Thursday as city and state leaders broke ground on phase II of a housing project that's intended to help meet demand. 'It's so much more than housing,' Lewis Jordan, Executive Director of Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority, said. 'This is a community that's committed to making sure that affordable housing is provided, and communities are built.' The new development is a part of an affordable community initiative in the Historic Westside just near Martin Luther King Boulevard and Carey Avenue. It's named after the Rev. Marion D. Bennett, Sr. — a former Nevada assemblymember and defender of civil rights. Bennett marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and founded the first Black Methodist church in Las Vegas. 'It is a very significant reminder of how much he loved this community and how much this community loved him back,' former judge Karen Bennett-Haron said, reflecting on her father's impact. 'To be reminded of his work and his legacy is truly a gift I'll treasure forever.' The latest project will be a 59-unit Spanish villa-style development featuring upgraded amenities, including workout facilities and computer rooms. 'Shelter and housing with a high level of dignity,' Jordan said. 'Just because you are poor or you are working-class, does not mean you have to live in squalor. We've had enough of that,' Las Vegas City Councilwoman Shondra Summers-Armstrong said. 'If we can provide housing and sustain it that is quality, it lifts people's spirit. It gives them a sense of dignity.' Phase II of the Marion D. Bennett, Sr. Plaza is expected to be completed next summer. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
