Entitlements in NevadaPlan Checkers and Checklists

 

Any development project in Nevada must go through a process of entitlement by the local city or county. Entitlements give a landowner the legal right to develop or redevelop a property, so obtaining an entitlement is a crucial first step in any construction project.

The entitlement process can be long, tedious, and frustrating for both government agencies and developers. The city or county must balance its goal of encouraging growth with the responsibility of making sure that any proposed project follows their master plan, includes buy-in from neighbors of the project, and conforms to a myriad of local and state laws and regulations.

“I won’t say that the entitlement process is the most important thing cities do, but it’s near the top of the list,” said Seth Floyd, executive director of community development for the City of Las Vegas.

Government Agencies Face Challenges

Eddie Dichter, community development and services department director for the City of Henderson, said the biggest problem his department faces is making sure that proposed development complies with the city’s Henderson Strong comprehensive plan. “A parcel may be planned for industrial uses, but developers may try to pick up that industrial land for a residential project,” he said. “They come to us for input on whether that residential use is in compliance with our comprehensive plan, and we have to decide whether to support it or not.”

Keeping up with change is also a challenge for planning departments. Although cities have long-term land use plans that may only change every 10 years, building codes may change annually, or even more frequently. “Codes are living documents,” explained Melissa Eure, president of G. C. Garcia, a Henderson-based land planning and development services firm. “As the markets and technology change, the codes must adapt to account for things like EV chargers, tiny homes, short-term rentals, and dog parks. They must also change in response to new regulations enacted by the state Legislature.”

Getting community approval for infill projects often presents a challenge for cities, especially if proposed developments may increase traffic flow or include an affordable housing component. For that reason, they get as much input as possible from neighbors who will be affected. They send out postcards to get feedback, and often hold meetings in which neighbors can ask questions and give their opinions on the proposed development.

“Our challenges depend on what’s going on in the market,” said Floyd. “But, we’re always dealing with advances in technology. Everything is electronic now, and we are currently asking ourselves how AI may affect what we’re doing: How can it help us? What are the pitfalls?”

Regarding issues faced by developers and builders North Las Vegas City Manager Micaela Moore stated, “The main issue we hear from developers is that ‘time is money.’ It takes time to go through the entitlement process. The longer they’re holding onto a property and not doing anything with it, that’s money they’re ‘eating.’ We expedite the process as much as possible so they can get shovels in the ground, but it doesn’t happen overnight.”

Eure added, “The entitlement process can affect financing for small businesses as well as for developers. For tenant improvements, you may only have three months of free rent, and if the process takes longer than that, you’re paying rent before you can open your doors for business.”

Angela Fuss, director of development services for the City of Reno, said the complaints she hears most often from the development community involve time, money, and uncertainty. “The uncertainty factor arises because you never know what’s going to come out of the three-month review process,” she said. “The planning commission may add something, or feedback from neighbors may require some changes. For example, an apartment complex planned for three stories may comply with the city’s zoning requirements, but the neighbors in one-story homes don’t want higher buildings looking down on them. The city wants to support density and infill, so how do you address their concerns when zoning allows it and the master plan encourages it? That feeds into developers’ concerns about uncertainty.”

Communication between applicants and government agencies can often present problems. “The average person has a limited knowledge of the terminology used by planning departments, and one difficulty people encounter is that the way they interpret something may not be the way the zoning or planning department interprets it,” said Eure. “For example, there is a separation requirement for some types of business, including taverns, smoke shops, and massage parlors. That requirement may differ from one jurisdiction to another, and how it’s measured may also differ: is it from door to door, from property line to property line, or something else?”

Working Through the Process

In general, the entitlement process for a major development in both cities and counties involves a staff review of the proposal, which pulls in employees from planning, public works, fire, building and safety, and other affected departments. After that meeting, the developer will receive a list of comments that need to be addressed. Once they have answered questions and provided whatever information was requested, they are put on a hearing schedule. Some projects can be approved by the planning department, while more complex or impactful projects may be forwarded by the planning commission to the city council or county commission for approval.

According to Eure, “From the date of submittal, the shortest time for approval [in southern Nevada] is three or four months, and it’s six to eight months for more complex projects, and that’s assuming you’ve hired people who are familiar with local regulations and processes, which is important.”

The City of Las Vegas has a pre-application process, said Floyd. “Applicants can get feedback from all our departments and go home with a checklist of everything that needs to be done to complete their application. Approval typically takes four months from the date of pre-application or 90 days from the actual application.”

The City of Reno has three different development tracks, according to Fuss. Simple projects can go straight to permitting with no entitlements. Other projects go through a 30-business-day review process (about 5 weeks). Applicants submit their full application, including site plan, information on parking lots, landscaping, etc. It’s sent to different departments within the city for review. The city also sends out notices to neighbors of the project for comments and feedback. These projects require a staff review only. Other developments must undergo a three-month entitlement process that must go through the planning commission. “Reno is unique in that we have ‘neighborhood advisory boards’ that give feedback and provide comments on the project,” said Fuss. “After that, the staff writes a report and draws up conditions of approval. That goes to the planning commission for their decision, which can be appealed. After that, it goes to the city council.”

Henderson also has different levels of review, according to Dichter. If an application complies 100 percent with code, it can get an administrative review that takes four to six weeks. Some applications require a final decision by the planning commission. That requires a public hearing and takes about two months. Comprehensive plans, zone changes, or appeals from a planning commission decision require a decision from the city council and take about three to three and a half months.

“The City of North Las Vegas has the fastest entitlements for zoning in southern Nevada, averaging about 60 to 90 days,” said Moore. “That gives us time to send notices to the community, giving people a certain distance away from the project a chance to give us their feedback. The only reason it would take longer than that would be if a community member or stakeholder has a concern or if the applicant decides to make changes.”

A Word to the Wise

“People should realize that there’s no such thing as an expedited zoning review,” said Eure. “Unlike building permits, which you can request to be expedited, that option doesn’t exist for zoning and entitlements. Be prepared to spend the time you need to get your ducks in a row. If you’re frustrated and seem to be stuck, don’t think you can bypass the system and ask for forgiveness later. Forgiveness may be possible, but it’s always costly. Ask anyone who’s had an unpermitted addition to their home.”

Floyd advised, “If you have a designer or engineer for your project, make sure they give you plans that are as complete and detailed as possible. The more prepared you are, the better our feedback will be and the faster you’ll get to a completed application. What really slows down the process is if we have to go back and forth, redesigning things because someone didn’t look at the setbacks or take care of some other detail. Then, it has to go through the review process again.”

Most cities have some type of pre-application process that allows developers to present a rough draft of their project and get feedback that can show them which direction to take. Dichter said Henderson offers a free concept plan review that gives the developer a chance to receive comments back before the final application. “Every department involved in the entitlement process participates in this review,” he said. “We may also ask for comments from outside entities like NV Energy, the school district, or the airport authority. After seeing the comments from this review, the developer may decide it’s not worthwhile to continue with the project, but at least they haven’t invested any money in it.”

In Reno, Fuss said, “We encourage everyone to use our pre-application meeting process. We set aside time every Monday morning for virtual meetings in which people can ask questions and get feedback. They can sign up for a 45-minute time slot and send us their conceptual site plan in advance. These meetings are attended by key people from the city departments. This gives the developer a chance to get feedback and suggestions before going forward with their project.”

City planners also advise anyone considering a project to sit down with the planning staff and ask whatever questions they may have. “Some developers are regulars and know just what to do, but for people who are new, we let them know that we are here to answer questions or address concerns,” said Floyd. “We’d rather answer questions now than try to un-do a mistake later. For larger projects, the city [of Las Vegas] has what we jokingly call a ‘development concierge’ who is the single point of contact for the developer. He helps them move the project forward if it gets stuck at any point in the process.”

The Effect on Economic Development

Nevada is famous for being one of the fastest growing states in the U.S. and also for being business-friendly. However, that doesn’t mean cities and counties in the Silver State allow development with no restrictions.

The entitlement process can take time and cost money, which out-of-state developers take into account when choosing whether to build a project here, according to Eure, who said, “What we’re starting to see is that the time to develop is taking longer in southern Nevada than in other jurisdictions around us. It’s a factor in businesses considering moving here. It may take six to eight months in Clark County, depending on the project, and a developer may find that it only takes two months in Arizona.”

Growth at both ends of the state is good for Nevada, especially if it results in economic diversification. “One thing Nevada is good at is development, so there are always a lot of projects going on,” said Eure. “As frustrating as the entitlement process can be, growth is healthy and it’s a good thing.”