The City of Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency on Jan. 15 approved a $2 million pilot program to reimburse private developers for undergrounding electrical distribution lines in redevelopment areas, agency staff said.

Dina Babski, director of economic and urban development, said the program is intended to help private projects move forward when above‑ground power lines and poles interfere with development. She said Nevada Energy offers a related municipal program but excludes private developers. "They have set aside, this time around, $20,000,000 and that's to split between all different agencies in Southern Nevada," Babski said, and the city proposes a $2 million RDA special revenue fund set-aside to assist private developers.

Under the proposed pilot, staff described two tiers of eligibility. Tier 1 applicants would be eligible for up to $250,000 in reimbursements for NV Energy-related work; the presenter said an eligible project would have total project costs of about $1,000,000 and utility undergrounding costs of at least $500,000. Tier 2 would target larger projects with higher reimbursement levels; the presenter described a $5,000,000 total project investment threshold and utility undergrounding costs described in the transcript as "over 1" (amount not fully specified in the record).

A council member asked for a concise bulleted summary after the vote to help recruitment efforts in the medical district; the motion to approve included that request. The chair called the vote and the motion passed; the transcript records "Motion passes" but does not include a roll-call tally.

Babski said the $2 million is the first-year allocation for the pilot and the program will be evaluated after implementation. The agency did not specify exact administrative rules, application timelines, or per-project caps beyond the tier descriptions at the meeting.