LETTER: More land not the answer to Las Vegas housing problem

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s land-use proposal (April 6 Review-Journal commentary) hinges on the flawed premise that expanding suburban sprawl into public lands will solve Southern Nevada’s housing crisis. Research shows that supply-driven sprawl increases infrastructure costs, traffic and emissions, without guaranteeing affordability.

Clark County has more than 78,000 acres in the Las Vegas metro that are already serviced by roads, water and power, yet underutilized due to zoning restrictions and developer incentives favoring greenfield development. Rather than selling off protected lands, reforms should focus on up-zoning urban cores, incentivizing high-density mixed-income housing and revitalizing blighted areas.

Moreover, the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act’s 85 percent conservation allocation masks a troubling trend: once-developed land is rarely restored. The legislation risks irreversible ecological loss while offering no structural solution to speculative land banking or stagnant wages.

True housing reform requires smarter land use — not more land used.