Clark County planning staff outline comp-plan periodic update and school capital implications

Jenna Kaye and Amy Wootton of Clark County Community Planning presented the comprehensive-plan 2025 periodic update, describing a four-phase public process and current progress in the “review and refine” phase. Kaye noted the county’s mandatory due date for the periodic update is Dec. 31, 2025, and staff anticipate beginning the formal adoption process in early 2026 with an adopting ordinance going into effect around June 2026.

Amy Wooten said the draft work reflects recent Growth Management Act changes that require the county and cities to plan for higher housing densities and accommodate projected population and employment growth over a 20-year horizon. Staff showed proposed upzoning in urban unincorporated areas — with concentration around the Fairgrounds Interchange and the Highway 99 corridor — and said cities and the county are coordinating on alternative maps.

Planning staff emphasized that once the council selects a preferred land-use alternative (hearings scheduled in January, council confirmation expected in early February), the county must update the comp plan’s 20-year capital facilities plan. School districts already submitted updated six-year capital facility plans; staff said district inputs will be needed to align the county’s long-range capital estimate with school needs.

In the question-and-answer period, district leaders and council members discussed trade-offs between denser development and sprawl, the difficulty of expanding landlocked urban campuses, and potential mechanisms for preserving or acquiring future school sites as the urban growth area evolves. Vice chair Glenn Young suggested exploring options that would allow school districts earlier access to land value gains so districts can secure sites without paying rezoned market prices; staff invited further district input.