Las Vegas seeks volunteers for redevelopment advisory committee

Las Vegas is looking for volunteers to serve on a new citizens advisory committee for the Redevelopment Agency, which tries to promote development and job growth in blighted areas.

The committee’s nine members will have input into agency projects and programs, and will also be able to propose new ones. Members will be appointed by the Las Vegas City Council and must meet eligibility criteria.

The committee’s bylaws call for a business owner, a real estate agent, and a developer, architect or contractor whose businesses are located in the redevelopment area; one single-family home resident and one apartment tenant or condominium owner who lives in the redevelopment area; an educator or community leader working with children who lives or works in the target area; and one member each from Wards 1, 3 and 5 who reside or have businesses in the target area.

The 3,948-acre redevelopment area roughly covers downtown Las Vegas east of Interstate 15, south of Washington Avenue, north of Sahara Avenue and west of Maryland Parkway. It also includes corridors on Charleston Boulevard, Martin Luther King Boulevard and Eastern Avenue.

A map of the redevelopment area is available online at www.lasvegasnevada.gov/Publications/maps.htm.

Committee members will have to complete a training course on the Redevelopment Agency’s operations.

To apply, go to www.lvrda.org and click on the "Interest Form" link. Complete the form and send it to: City Clerk, Las Vegas City Hall; 400 Stewart Ave. – First Floor; Las Vegas, NV 89101. It can also be faxed to 702-382-4803.

For more information, contact Steve van Gorp at 702-229-6863.

The committee is being formed as part of an agreement reached with Culinary Local 226 in 2009. The union mounted several challenges to city redevelopment efforts and tried to put measures on the ballot that would severely curtail the Redevelopment Agency’s autonomy.

The agreement ended those challenges while requiring any gaming or hospitality project in the redevelopment area to deal with the appropriate bargaining unit if the project receives city incentives.