Clark County planners preview sweeping multifamily code updates

At a July 30 Clark County Planning Commission work session, consultant Elizabeth Decker of JET Planning previewed a package of Title 40 code updates aimed at expanding multifamily housing capacity to meet a projected need over the next 20 years. Decker said the county’s housing work grew out of the 2020 Housing Options Study and Action Plan, with phase 1 middle‑housing updates already in place and phase 2 focused on multifamily and comp‑plan alignment.

"We are prioritizing multifamily opportunities with these code updates," Decker said, explaining the updates are intended to align zoning, definitions and design standards with the 2025 comprehensive plan housing element. She told commissioners the county needs to substantially increase capacity for apartments and other multifamily forms to serve households at or below 80% of area median income (AMI). The presentation included nine organizing concepts — from simplifying the zoning framework to clarifying amenity-area and parking standards — and staff said the refined draft will be the basis for the public hearing packet in August.

Why it matters: staff and the consultant framed the changes as an implementation step to meet both statewide housing directives and locally adopted goals. Commissioners and staff agreed the presentation provided the technical foundation for the August hearing and requested additional data on specific corridors and implementation steps.