Clark County Councilor David Madore is, once again, taking the county’s Comprehensive Growth Management Plan update into his own hands.
Madore, who earlier this year developed his own zoning recommendations to cater to the requests of rural residents, is working on what he is calling a “locally preferred alternative,” Acting County Manager Mark McCauley confirmed Friday.
The contents of that plan, however, are unclear.
“He has not shared with anybody what is going into this,” McCauley said. “He’s in his office. He’s working on it by himself.”
Madore did not return a request for comment Friday afternoon.
The Clark County Planning Commission did not recommend any of the proposals, including Madore’s alternative, that would reduce the minimum lot size of resource lands and rural property in unincorporated Clark County at a meeting last month.
The Clark County council will consider the planning commission’s recommendations at a hearing on Oct. 20, but it is not bound to adopt them. The council can change or reject the commission’s recommendations as it chooses.
But McCauley and Community Planning Director Oliver Orjiako describe a councilmember developing his own plan as out of the norm.
“I haven’t experienced that,” Orjiako said.
Planning staff have not been involved in Madore’s new alternative.
What also remains unclear is whether Madore’s plan incorporates components from the already existing four alternatives or whether it is a new plan entirely. If it’s the latter, a new environmental study will have to be conducted on the new proposal, which could slow an already-delayed process.
Following the final adoption of a land-use plan, the county will, with the help of consultants Environmental Science Associates, develop a final environmental impact statement. That final report will include the capital facilities plan, which outlines how the county will pay for its planned growth.
How long that takes will depend on what’s in the preferred alternative, Orjiako said.
“It depends on the scope,” Orjiako said. “It could be done in three months, but all that will depend on the scope, and what else is thrown in there.”
The final plan must be submitted and approved by the state Department of Commerce by June 30. County staff have expressed concern that the plan might not be complete in time.
Neither Jeanne Stewart nor Councilor Tom Mielke could be reached for comment Friday.
