Man with a plan

     By Chris Jones
     View staff writer
      Henderson City Councilman Steve Kirk was recently named chairman of the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition, a recommending body charged with finding solutions to growth-related issues throughout the valley.
      Through the position, Kirk will oversee the efforts of the 10-member board as it works to determine how to best handle Southern Nevada's rapid influx of new residents and businesses, as well as other topics of concern to municipalities throughout the region.
      Sustained and proper growth in the Las Vegas Valley is vital to state interests, but the Nevada Legislature granted the five Southern Nevada municipalities enough room to direct their own destinies by establishing the RPC in 1999.
      "The Legislature has said if we can't manage our growth, they may take steps to manage it for us," Kirk said. "We don't want Carson City telling us how to manage what happens in our own back yard.
      "This really is the only forum that I'm aware of that allows elected officials to work together on common problems."
      Kirk, who will work in his new capacity for a one-year period ending in January, said he's excited about the opportunity to serve and believes the coalition's efforts will play a vital role in maintaining the autonomy of the region's municipalities. The coalition is made up of two elected representatives from Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas and Clark County, an elected official from Boulder City and one member of the Clark County School District.
      At the start of each year, the role of coalition chairman will be passed to a representative from one of the RPC's different municipalities or organizations. In 1999, the board's members decided to begin the selection process based upon the alphabetical order of its member groups, starting with Clark County.
      Kirk replaced Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, who served as chairman in 1999. Following Kirk's term, Las Vegas will be in line to name the coalition's chairman for 2001. That selection is likely be Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, who currently serves as the RPC vice chairman.
      Henderson's other representative on the board, City Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers, served as the RPC's vice chairman last year and was in line to become chairwoman before stepping aside to give Kirk the opportunity to lead the coalition.
      Kirk has worked with the RPC since he was elected to the City Council last summer, and Cyphers said she believes his level of preparation will also allow him to thrive in the new role.
      "It's a wonderful opportunity for Steve, and he's going to be a wonderful chairman," Cyphers said. "Even though he's new to the council, he does a lot of reading and really does his homework to be sure he understands the topics we're dealing with."
      Cyphers said Kirk's primary role as chairman will be to serve as a moderator to ensure the group can meet its state-required deadlines for developing plans for the area. She said the role will also require a bit of diplomacy due to the presence of so many different organizations within the coalition.
      "He's got to understand the unique attributes of each community, plus make sure we can follow the time lines to get everything done," Cyphers said. "It makes things interesting because you've got cities like Henderson, which I think is very pro-growth, meeting on a board with Boulder City, which is very much against growth.
      "I think he'll do a great job of keeping us together."
      Kirk said working together is key to the RPC's success, and he hopes the coalition members will study the benefits of existing policies in the different municipalities. He cited Henderson's award-winning Parks and Recreation Department as an example of what could serve as a model for other areas in Southern Nevada, just as policies from Las Vegas or Clark County might influence the direction of Henderson's leaders.
      "I think there will be things we've already done (in Henderson) that will serve as a model for the coalition," Kirk said. "Some of the things we've done as a city, others have never done, and we know they've worked. That may be a model others can follow, but it's very important to have cooperation."
      Because the coalition has no enforcement power, the effects of its work will ultimately be determined by the local municipalities.
      "(The RPC) was set in place as a recommending board only," Kirk said. "We want the municipalities to keep control. We'll make recommendations, but the city councils or County Commission will make their own decisions on projects in their areas.
      "We listen, but we don't have any teeth to enforce our recommendations."
      The state has plenty of bite, however, and isn't above using it.
      Through an amended interlocal agreement that took effect Jan. 27, the Legislature directed the coalition to develop a comprehensive regional policy plan for growth in Southern Nevada for at least the next 20 years. According to Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 278, that plan should "seek the balanced economic, social, physical, environmental and fiscal development and orderly management of the growth of the region."
      Kirk said another state agency, the Southern Nevada Strategic Planning Authority, developed a list of areas that needed additional planning on a regional level and passed them along to the RPC. Significant topics were divided into seven categories: conservation, population, land use and development, transportation, public facilities, air quality and the promotion of new housing and businesses in established neighborhoods.
      Of those topics, Kirk said land use and development issues stand to impact Henderson the most.
      "We seem to be growing faster than anyone else, and with Henderson looking to annex 6,000 acres in the next few years, land use becomes a big issue," Kirk said.
      To be successful, however, board members must direct their focus on issues of regional significance.
      "We need to find projects that affect the whole region, not just a particular municipality by itself," Kirk said. "We've been working, along with the other municipalities, to develop a comprehensive policy plan not only for Henderson, but the entire region."
      Said Cyphers: "The state has asked, `Can (Southern Nevada) produce quality growth?' They've given us the chance to prove ourselves, and we don't want the state telling us as municipalities what to do to."