Planners: new ADA transition plan required; curb‑ramp backlog and missing sidewalks create large funding shortfall

Clark County planners told councilors the comprehensive‑plan update must now include an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) transition plan and highlighted the scope and cost implications for sidewalks and curb ramps across the county.

Michael Salas, a community planner who led outreach on the transition plan, described the appendix self‑evaluation and said the plan concentrates on missing sidewalks and curb ramps that qualify as capital projects. "This is focused on curb ramps and missing sidewalks in particular...because those are what's part of a capital project," Salas said, noting existing sidewalk deficiencies are typically treated as maintenance rather than capital.

Staff set evaluation criteria that include barrier severity, network connectivity, access to public facilities, safety risk and equity considerations. Salas said planners worked with an Accessible Community Advisory Committee and conducted public input and a survey to prioritize projects for capital funding.

Councilors pressed staff on cost estimates. Oliver Ojiaco, community planning director, said the county's estimate for curb‑ramp deficiencies was "about" $42,000,000. In subsequent discussion, councilors and staff described the total cost to construct missing sidewalks across the county in the hundreds of millions of dollars; one councilor summarized the figure as roughly $700,000,000. "To fill in all of the missing sidewalks, it's $700,000,000," the councilor said.

Staff framed the backlog as a multi‑decade, phased effort rather than a single‑year bill. Planners pointed to state and federal grant programs and transportation funding sources as part of a strategy to phase projects over time. Salas said the updated plan allows the county to qualify for state programs it could not access previously, including transportation improvement grants and urban sidewalk programs.

For context, staff referenced recent budget figures showing general road fund revenues (property tax, fuel tax and other sources) of about $66 million per year, underscoring the magnitude of redirecting funds if the county attempted to accelerate sidewalk construction.

Next steps and implications: staff said the ADA transition plan will be included in materials sent to the Department of Commerce to begin the statutory review period and that implementation will proceed as funding becomes available, through county capital programming, grants and developer contributions. No funding commitments or timelines were approved in the work session; councilors asked staff to provide clearer revenue comparisons and to continue outreach on prioritization.

The council concluded the discussion by noting the three main levers to address large capital shortfalls—raising new revenue, revising land‑use assumptions, or adjusting service standards—and asked staff to return with additional cost and funding detail ahead of the hearing.