Proposed city ordinance could open more parking in downtown Las Vegas

Finding a parking spot in downtown Las Vegas could get easier under a proposed city ordinance.

That is because city officials are looking for ways to peel back regulations that make it difficult, if not impossible, for property owners to use vacant lots for temporary and special event parking.

On Tuesday the City Council's recommending committee voted 2-0 to advance the proposal to the full council for a reading today and possible approval next month.

The proposed ordinance would allow vacant-lot owners in the downtown area to use their property for parking up to six times per month, even if it is not paved, if they provide enough dust control to satisfy the Clark County Department of Air Quality and Environmental Management.

"The bottom line is up until this point, it hasn't been OK to use a dirt lot for parking under any circumstances," said Brandy Stanley, who was hired in June 2011 as the city's parking czar with the directive to make it easier for people to find parking downtown.

With making allowances for special event parking lots, the city will ease requirements for temporary lots. They are lots landowners create for everyday use for up to three years.

Currently a temporary lot requires a certain level of landscaping, sidewalk improvements, fencing and other upgrades before it can be used for parking. The requirements are part of the Downtown Centennial land use plan.

Stanley said the requirements can drive the cost of creating a lot to $3,000 to $5,000 per space, which makes it too expensive for landowners to recoup through parking fees.

"With parking rates as low as they are, you would never pay that back," she said.

Under the new ordinance, landowners could choose one or more improvements, as opposed to doing all of them.

Stanley said that could lower development costs to a level "that can make some sense."

The hope is that making it easier to establish special event parking on vacant, dirt lots in the downtown area will cut down on brouhahas like the one that erupted in the wake of dozens of cars being towed from private property during a First Friday event last year.

Although the fiasco was blamed on an overzealous private towing company, it highlighted the conundrum faced during special events like First Friday by landowners with vacant property downtown.

Under current rules landowners with unpaved lots can allow people to park and hope the city doesn't notice the violation or secure the property by hiring private tow companies to keep it free of cars.

"We have to tow them because they are not supposed to be parked there," said Paul Murad, a downtown property manager whose portfolio includes nearly 100,000 square feet of vacant property that could accommodate cars.

Murad said unless the regulatory requirements are scaled back, it is too expensive for landowners to justify using their vacant property for special event parking or as full-time lots.

"It's not practical doing that," he said.

Contact reporter Ben Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.