LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A new coalition of Southern Nevada developers and builders kicked off Tuesday with a lunch featuring panels on two of the biggest issues facing the region: land and water.
WATCH | Senior political reporter Steve Sebelius talked with members of the coalition about the challenges and what is being done:
With the federal government owning or controlling about 80% of Nevada lands — the highest percentage of any state — finding land to develop is a challenge, participants said.
Brian Gordon, principal of the Applied Analysis research firm, told the luncheon crowd that studies have come up with varying numbers for how much land is left to develop in the valley.
The consensus is about 18,000 acres, although some of that may be territory that's difficult or even impossible to develop because of its grade.
But available, developable land is near the top of concerns from companies that are looking to relocate, Gordon said.
"It's all about D.C. We have no power here," said Steve Neiger, president of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association.
Neiger said the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act — the law that allows the federal government to sell land and keep the proceeds here in the valley — needs attention.
"SNPLMA needs to work. That's it," Neiger said. "SNPLMA needs to work and the federal government's got to help with that. ... It's not being operated the way it was intended, and it's not being used by D.C. the way it was intended."
In recent years, some have complained that the process of actually getting the land is too long, too cumbersome and results in only tiny slivers of property being put up for bid.
The Bureau of Land Management said it moves quickly to sell land that's nominated for sale, but bureaucratic requirements surrounding appraisals can take time.
But even if the land problem was solved, the water issue still looms over the valley's development.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation recently released an environmental impact statement that called for cuts to the Colorado River allocation of lower-basin states, including Nevada.
But the Silver State leads all the other Colorado River jurisdictions when it comes to water conservation. Nearly all the water used in homes — from sinks to toilets to washing machines and showers — is captured for treatment and recycling into Lake Mead.
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Not only that, but the Southern Nevada Water Authority has encouraged conservation for years, paying people to take out natural grass, banning so-called non-functional turf and strictly regulating watering of landscaping. It's also negotiating an agreement with at least one Southern California city to offset water draws with coastal desalination.
Those actions convince developers that the Las Vegas valley won't run dry any time soon.
"It's always something that's a concern, but do I actually think we're going to run out?" said Tina Frias, CEO of the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association. "No, because I think we have some of the best and brightest people that have been coming together on this issue for more than 25 years, so I have quite a bit of confidence in their leadership and the fact that they've been a casebook example across the world."
Although the federal plan has been released, states continue to negotiate over Colorado River policies among themselves, and the federal government has said it could incorporate any state-negotiated solutions into the overall solution.
