Redevelopment staff outline East Las Vegas special-area plan and process to create new RDA area

Redevelopment staff on the Redevelopment Agency board presented a summary of the East Las Vegas Special Area Plan and opened discussion about creating a new redevelopment area to support transit-oriented development and neighborhood reinvestment.

Tracy Reich, redevelopment manager, summarized the plan and its five guiding priorities: “a commitment to health and public safety, a greener East Las Vegas, invest in the public realm, create a sense of place with mixed use hubs, and empower entrepreneurs.” The presentation emphasized infill redevelopment, transit‑oriented development, improved mobility, and targeted park and tree‑canopy improvements along corridors such as Bonanza and Charleston.

Why it matters: staff said the plan is intended to concentrate public and private investment in existing commercial nodes, reduce displacement risks and improve access to jobs, groceries and parks in a historically underinvested part of Ward 3. Agency members and staff discussed next steps to convert the plan’s priorities into implementable projects and the legal process for establishing a redevelopment area.

Key points from the presentation and discussion

- Plan priorities and tools: Reich said outreach used dual‑language engagement and resulted in the five big ideas. The plan proposes tools such as community land trusts, inclusionary zoning, community benefits agreements, “right to stay” protections, lease‑to‑own options and rent‑stabilization studies; Reich noted some measures “need additional study.”

- Paseo Bonanza and complete streets: staff identified Bonanza as a backbone corridor for a Paseo and mixed‑use nodes, recommending complete‑street upgrades (sidewalks, bike lanes, street trees and shade) and transit improvements to support higher‑density development.

- Public improvements and leverage: Reich described the agency’s role in leveraging existing public works projects (for example, the Stewart Avenue complete‑street project) to attract private redevelopment at identified nodes.

- Desert Pines: Reich said Desert Pines is currently city‑owned and slated to close as a golf course with a planned full redevelopment. “That is correct. It is city owned golf course at this moment that we will close in the next year and, with a full redevelopment plan,” Reich said; she added the Desert Pines plan is expected to come to the Planning Commission in February and to City Council in April.

- Legal/process overview: Reich outlined the statutory process for creating a redevelopment area under Nevada law (NRS Chapter 279). “We would need to do a new area, not expand the area 1. We would need to do a new area, so Redevelopment area 3, for this area,” she said, summarizing steps that include property assessments for blight criteria, drafting a preliminary plan, Planning Commission review, public hearings, RDA and City Council approvals, then recording at the county.

- Community concerns and follow‑up: board members asked how the plan would move from vision to projects, how to address “food swamps” and attract full‑scale grocery retailers, and how increased tree canopy would be supported given water constraints. Reich said incentives tied to an RDA could help attract larger grocers and that the city urban forester favors native, lower‑water species for canopy expansion. Board members requested a follow‑up briefing by Public Works and a cleaner map showing proposed RDA boundaries; Reich said staff would return with a refined map and ask Public Works to present at a future meeting.

Context and timing

Reich said much of the material is drawn from the city’s 2050 master plan and the East Las Vegas special‑area plan included in board packets. She described existing and proposed nodes for mixed‑use and TOD, including Lamb & Bonanza, Bonanza & Pecos and the Desert Pines site, and said roughly “93 acres of 94 acres of new development” are expected to come on line in the Desert Pines area over the next 10 years. No formal vote or adoption occurred; the board directed staff to continue outreach, refine proposed RDA boundaries and return with Public Works for implementation details.

Next steps

Staff will refine maps and boundaries and return to the Redevelopment Agency board for further direction. Reich said the Desert Pines redevelopment materials will be presented to the Planning Commission in February and to City Council in April. The board also asked staff to bring Public Works to a future meeting to explain implementation timelines for streets, transit and park improvements.