North Las Vegas planning commission OKs height variance for Faraday plant

The North Las Vegas planning commission unanimously approved a height variance for part of electric car maker Faraday Future's factory Wednesday night. The carmaker needs the extra room to accommodate multiple levels of equipment in the complex's paint shop building.

The variance will allow a building height of 80 feet where 60 feet is currently allowed at the Apex industrial park for a paint shop. About 290,000 square feet of the 3 million-square-foot site will be altered.

Faraday Future's ability to build above 60 feet still hinges on getting approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. The paint shop will house about 50 emission stacks among other equipment.

Faraday Future applied to the FAA on Feb. 5 for the height clearance.

At the meeting Wednesday night, the company also presented the proposed site layout, which shows a body shop, paint shop, test track, assembly line and a 3,000-space parking lot.

Victor Rodriguez, community partnerships director with Nellis Air Force Base, attended the meeting and told the company that Nellis planes might fly over the property.

The $1 billion site of the carmaker's plant is north of Nellis.

In January at an invitation-only event in Las Vegas, the company unveiled a version of its FFZero1 concept car. In a statement released then, Richard Kim, Faraday's head of design, said, "The FFZero1 concept is an amplified version of the design and engineering philosophies informing Faraday Future's forthcoming production vehicles."

The Nevada Legislature held a special session in December to agree on a tax incentives package to entice the carmaker to stake a claim in the Silver State.

Contact Alexander S. Corey at acorey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0270. Find him on Twitter: @acoreynews