Trump signs North Las Vegas industrial park bill

North Las Vegas won greater control over development at the Apex Industrial Park after President Donald Trump signed a bill into law Wednesday granting that power.

The Apex Area Technical Corrections Act gives certain rights over the industrial park to the city of North Las Vegas and the Apex Industrial Park Owners Association that were previously held by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The city of North Las Vegas can now issue permits and provide utility access for businesses in the industrial park, eliminating what North Las Vegas councilperson Scott Black called an “antiquated processes.”

“It cuts down on permitting time,” Black said. “It cuts down on costs, and it gets projects built quicker, which enables people to get to work quicker.”

Apex comprises about 18,000 acres and hosts large facilities for businesses including grocery chain Kroger, which operates locally as Smith’s Food and Drug, and HEYDUDE, owned by shoe manufacturer Crocs. In addition, gas supplier Air Liquide built a large hydrogen plant in the country on the park, and real estate and logistics company Prologis purchased 879 acres for a future development.

Many business owners wanting to develop projects at Apex had to get approval from the Bureau of Land Management, because portions of the land are federally-owned. The federal government owns more than 80 percent of Nevada — the highest of any state.

“They would need permission from BLM simply to access that private land,” Black said. “So that means to build a road, or to build a water line or to build a power line.”

Alongside the city of North Las Vegas, the act grants rights to the Apex Industrial Park Owners Association. Black said the group is a collection of “business owners, developers or just raw landowners” in the park.

U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., introduced the act in the House on Jan. 22. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., brought its counterpart to the Senate.

The bill passed both the House and Senate unanimously.

“North Las Vegas, they came to me with this problem,” Horsford said. “I worked with my colleagues, including the Republican chair of the Natural Resources Committee, to get this bill considered, despite the gridlock.”

The act will hopefully eliminate some of the former system’s red tape and support business in one of North Las Vegas’ main economic engines, he added.

“It’s not just utilities. It’s literally the entire infrastructure that is needed to develop those industries,” Horsford said. “We’re talking about the largest hydrogen plant, one of the biggest in the country, that’s located in North Las Vegas. We’re talking about regional logistics warehouses and businesses that are meeting the needs of our local consumers and our regional consumers.”

Contact Finnegan Belleau at fbelleau@reviewjournal.com.