City of Las Vegas Planning Commissioners Richard W. Truesdell and Keen L. Ellsworth will assume their new roles as chairman and vice chairman, respectively, during tomorrow’s Planning Commission meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. in Las Vegas City Hall Council Chambers. At the Jan. 14, 2010, Planning Commission meeting, Truesdell was elected to the position of chairman and Ellsworth to the position of vice-chairman. Truesdell was appointed by Mayor Oscar B. Goodman in July 2004, and Ellsworth was appointed by Ward 6 Councilman Steven D. Ross in October 2008.
Truesdell is president of the Cornerstone Company. He is a lifelong resident of Las Vegas and has been actively involved in the local commercial real estate market for the past 30 years. Truesdell was recently elected the Planning official member of the American Planning Association’s Nevada Chapter (Southern Section) Board. As an advocate of Las Vegas cultural development, he was a member of the Board of Trustees for the Lied Discovery Children's Museum and has been involved in the development of the museum's facilities near downtown Las Vegas. He is a founding board member and continues to serve on the Board of Trustees for The Meadows School, Nevada's only non-profit, non-sectarian college preparatory school.
Ellsworth is an attorney and is one of the founding members of the law firm Ellsworth, Moody & Bennion, Chtd. Ellsworth has had extensive experience in labor/union law, general business law, trials and asset protection/trust law. Presently, Ellsworth sits on the Clark County's Committee on Community Priorities (created to assist the county with its budgetary deficits). Ellsworth is also a mediator on the Foreclosure Mediation Panel, which was recently created by the Nevada Legislature to help deal with the foreclosure crisis facing many of Nevada's residents and financial institutions.
The Planning Commission members are appointed by the City Council. The commission makes recommendations to the City Council on the city's master and special area plans, zoning applications and other related issues and makes final decisions on variances, site plans and subdivision maps.
