Las Vegas and CLARK County, NV

Client: Las Vegas City Managers Office

Team of experts: Joe Schilling, International City/County Management Association; Dan Emerine, International City/County Management Association; Vera de Vera, Fannie Mae Foundation Western Regional Office; Neil Richmond, UCLA; Michael Stepner, New School of Architecture; representatives from the cities of Phoenix, San Diego; attorneys representing San Bernadino County, CA

Description of work:

With a grant from the Fannie Mae Foundation, International City/County Management Assocation (ICMA) , together with staff from LISC and SGA, convened a three-day policy roundtable in December 2003 on vacant property strategies. Approximately 20 practitioners from the four local governments in the Las Vegas Valley (City of Las Vegas, Henderson North Las Vegas, and Clark County) attended.

Following the roundtable, Joe Schilling met with participants from Clark County, City of Las Vegas, and City of Henderson to guide their development of a specific action plan based on information shared during the roundtable.

Joe Schilling and Dan Emerine from ICMA designed and facilitated the policy roundtable with assistance from Vera de Vera, Fannie Mae Foundation’s Western Regional Office. During the roundtable Neil Richmond from UCLA discussed the NLKA information system. Representatives from the cities of Phoenix, San Diego, and Tucson made presentations on scattered site redevelopment, vacant properties coordination, and code enforcement. Lawyers from Best, Best and Krieger shared their experience using California’s receivership law in representing San Bernardino County. Local developers and CDC directors shared their challenges with infill development and mixed use opportunities. Dean of the New School of Architecture, Michael Stepner, discussed the redevelopment strategies of downtown San Diego.

Since the release of the report: Despite local government staffing changes, the local governments within the Las Vegas Valley continue with their code enforcement efforts to abate blight and vacant properties. In 2004 the City Council of Las Vegas announced a new initiative to streamline the identification and abatement of problem properties.

Who might find this report helpful: Local government officials and staff engaged in community and economic development, especially in cities and towns from the west. The roundtable summary report discusses how vacant property revitalization could assist implementation of the Las Vegas region’s strategic planning framework through greater opportunities for infill development and mixed use.

Power Point presentations available at www.icma.org/vacantproperties along with a policy report.