Las Vegas to hold public hearing on proposed annexations

A controversial city of Las Vegas plan to absorb 872 acres of unincorporated Clark County land will get a public airing Monday.

If a majority of the more than 1,500 affected property owners protest the annexation, the city won’t be able to move forward. The 10 areas slated for annexation are “islands” of unincorporated Clark County territory that sit inside the city’s three most urban wards.

Las Vegas Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian, whose ward encircles some of the areas up for annexation, insists that the city absorbing the land is about “fairness,” not a “money grab” by the city.

Clark County commissioners sent a letter to Las Vegas officials last week urging them to scrap the annexation plan and cancel Monday’s meeting.

“The city’s boundaries should not be extended to take in land merely for the purpose of increasing the city’s tax revenues,” the county letter states.

City officials say county island residents use city resources without paying for them, putting the cost burden on city taxpayers.

In the letter, Clark County officials disagreed with city officials on the reason behind annexation, arguing that because the county residents already receive services like fire and police protection, they will receive “nothing of value in return for their additional tax dollars.”

City annexations of county land have created a rift between the jurisdictions in the past, although the feud appeared to have cooled since they inked an interlocal agreement in late 2016.

But after a City Council meeting in early January at which dozens of the affected property owners spoke out against the annexation plans, county officials began to slam the city’s proposal.

Opponents told the council in January that they like living outside the city’s boundaries and do not need city services.

Annexations have riled residents in the northwest valley, too, where residents have voiced concerns that creeping city boundaries would take away their more rural lifestyle.

The county’s letter asserts that the city might be running afoul of the law with the annexation plan, though county officials haven’t publicly provided an explanation for the perceived conflict with state law.

If the city annexes the land, the areas will become part of wards 1, 3 and 5.

The city’s special meeting and public hearing on the proposed annexations begins at 1 p.m. Monday at Las Vegas City Hall.

Contact Jamie Munks at jmunks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Follow @Journo_Jamie_ on Twitter.