Overview
General Plan Amendment – Charleston Area (21-0326-GPA1)
Within the Charleston Area, an amendment (21-0326-GPA1) was proposed to expand the TOD-2 land use to 91 acres south of Sahara Avenue along Interstate 15 to allow additional mixed-use development at the city’s southern edge
Charleston Area Amendment
How the TOD Overlay 25-0594-GPA1 / TXT1 Implements the 2050 Master Plan.
What is TOD?
Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is compact, mixed-use, higher-intensity development located within a quarter-mile to half-mile walk of high-capacity transit corridors and station areas. TOD emphasizes walkability, multimodal connectivity, reduced auto dependency, active ground-floor uses, and convenient access to jobs, housing, services, parks, and education.
1. It focuses new growth where transit already works best
The Master Plan says that future growth should happen mostly through infill and redevelopment, not through sprawl. The TOD-O does exactly that by promoting TOD redevelopment areas along major transit corridors and mixed use centers—places where transit already operates or is planned.
It encourages more homes and businesses in walkable areas and helps avoid pushing development farther into the desert.
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2. It supports mixed use, walkable neighborhoods
A major Master Plan goal is to create compact neighborhoods where people can walk to shops, parks, services, and transit. The TOD O requires:
• Building entrances oriented to sidewalks
• Minimal front setbacks
• Reduced surface parking
• Active ground floor commercial along major corridors
• Better pedestrian connections and fewer driveways
Together, these rules help transform car-oriented corridors into vibrant, walkable districts.
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3. It allows more housing types and more housing choices
The Master Plan calls for increasing housing diversity—especially “missing middle” options (townhomes, small apartments, etc.). The TOD O supports this by:
• Allowing varying residential types in TOD areas
• Permitting taller buildings (5–7 stories, with the option for up to 10 stories when attainable housing is included)
• Encouraging vertical mixed use buildings
This expands housing choices near jobs and transit, which also supports housing affordability goals.
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4. It helps reduce transportation and household costs
The Master Plan emphasizes equitable access to jobs, services, and daily needs. The TOD O makes this more feasible by:
• Putting more homes and jobs near reliable transit
• Letting developers reduce parking, lowering construction (and ultimately housing) costs
• Encouraging walkable access to jobs, schools, parks, and retail
This especially benefits households that spend a large share of income on transportation.
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5. It supports sustainability and water conservation goals
The Master Plan makes clear that Las Vegas must consume less water, reduce heat, and lower emissions. The TOD O supports these aims by:
• Concentrating growth where infrastructure already exists
• Encouraging multi-family housing types that use less water per unit
• Requiring drought-tolerant landscaping
• Reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by making transit, walking and biking more practical
In short: building “up” instead of “out” uses less water, less land, and less energy.
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6. It protects existing neighborhoods with thoughtful transitions
Residents consistently said they want growth without harming neighborhood character.
The TOD O requires:
• Gradual height transitions
• Landscape buffers
• Limits on ground floor residential along major corridors (to maintain active streets), but allows ground-floor residential closer to neighborhoods
• Restrictions on relatively stagnant uses like car lots, storage facilities, and RV parks
This helps new development fit in without overwhelming nearby homes.
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In Plain Language: What This All Means
The TOD Overlay is the city’s implementation tool for building the kind of places the 2050 Master Plan envisions:
• More housing choices close to transit
• Shops, homes, and jobs in convenient proximity
• Safer, more walkable streets
• Cleaner air and lower water use
• Revitalized corridors and underused sites
• Better connections to jobs and services
In short: The TOD Overlay takes the big-picture goals of the 2050 Master Plan and translates them into real, on the ground development standards that will shape Las Vegas into a more connected, sustainable, and livable city.
How the Parking Standards Update Ordinance 25-0562-TXT Advances the CLV 2050 Master Plan
The 2050 Master Plan calls for a more equitable, sustainable, multimodal, compact and resource efficient Las Vegas. The Parking Standards Update Ordinance directly supports these outcomes through several major policy shifts.
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1. Encourages More Compact, Infill, and Mixed-Use Development
Master Plan connection: Reduce land consumption, support reinvestment in existing areas, promote walkability and transit supportive land uses.
How the ordinance implements this:
• Adds a 15% maximum cap on the amount of parking that can be provided for any use, unless justified by a parking demand study or provided in structured/underground form.
• Allows reductions below minimums when near transit or a certain number of housing units(within 1,500 feet), up to 25% without a study.
• Modernizes dozens of land-use parking ratios, significantly lowering parking requirements for many commercial, retail, industrial, and entertainment uses.
Why it matters for Plan implementation:
Less required parking reduces development costs, frees land for housing or amenities, and supports the place type strategy of TOD, mixed use nodes, and walkable corridors.
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2. Supports Multimodal Transportation & Reduced Auto Dependence
Master Plan connection: Expand mobility options, reduce VMT, support RTC’s high capacity transit corridors.
How the ordinance implements this:
• Formally links reduced parking minimums to proximity to transit service.
• Encourages structured and underground parking, which aligns with TOD urban design principles.
• Adds a new Bicycle Parking Requirements section (19.12.090), requiring bike parking for 28 use types—restaurants, offices, schools, shopping centers, mixed-use projects, transit passenger facilities, etc.
• Sets modernized, high quality standards for bike rack design, spacing, visibility, and placement near building entrances.
Why it matters for Plan implementation:
This moves Las Vegas toward a multimodal network and reduces reliance on single occupancy vehicles, a core transportation strategy in the Master Plan.
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3. Advances Sustainability, Water Conservation and Heat Island Reduction
Master Plan connection: Reduce emissions, fight extreme heat, adapt to climate change, and use land more efficiently.
How the ordinance implements this:
• Lower parking requirements reduce large surface parking lots, which are major contributors to urban heat islands.
• Maximum caps + incentives for structured parking reduce paved land area and can make room for more shade trees or green infrastructure.
• Bicycle and transit-supportive standards encourage mode shift away from higher-emission transportation options.
Why it matters for Plan implementation:
The Master Plan’s Resilient and Healthy guiding principles emphasize reducing heat and emissions. Shifting away from excessive asphalt directly contributes.
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4. Aligns with TOD (Transit-Oriented Development) and Corridor Mixed-Use Strategies
Master Plan connection: TOD, walkable corridors, mixed use centers, and infill redevelopment.
How the ordinance implements this:
• Creates flexible parking requirements that encourage denser, transit supportive development.
• Supports TOD principles by allowing reductions where transit access is strong.
• Makes mixed-use development easier by reducing the friction of adding commercial uses that historically required high parking ratios.
Why it matters for plan implementation:
Parking reform is one of the core tools needed to physically realize TOD, walkable nodes, and compact development patterns envisioned in the Master Plan.
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5. Modernizes the Code for Today’s Land Use and Mobility Patterns
Master Plan connection: Modernize zoning, remove outdated barriers, support innovation.
How the ordinance implements this:
• Updates parking ratios for over 90 land uses, many of which were obsolete or mismatched to modern development patterns (e.g., breweries, craft production, clinics, retail, social service providers, warehouses).
• Right sizes industrial, manufacturing, logistics, and warehouse parking to reflect modern employee densities.
• Adds flexible paths for exceeding maximums only when justified (EV chargers, structured parking, or parking demand study). ________________________________________
In Summary
The Parking Standards Update Ordinance is one of the most significant zoning tools for implementing the Las Vegas 2050 Master Plan. It advances the plan by:
• Reducing auto dependence and supporting transit
• Encouraging compact, mixed use, infill development
• Lowering housing and development costs
• Supporting sustainability and climate resilience
• Enabling walkable and bike friendly neighborhoods
• Modernizing parking regulations to match current needs
In short, this ordinance operationalizes the Master Plan’s vision for a more livable, equitable, innovative, healthy, and resilient Las Vegas — not by adding new mandates, but by removing outdated barriers and right sizing parking to support better urban places.
How 19.17 Attainable Housing Text Amendment 26-0003-TXT Implements the City of Las Vegas 2050 Master Plan
Bill No. 2026 17 updates the City’s development code to replace “affordable housing” with “attainable housing,” adds new income tiers, and revises the rules for density bonuses, height bonuses, and fee reimbursements. These changes directly advance multiple goals of the 2050 Master Plan, which emphasizes housing diversity, equity, economic stability, and sustainable growth.
Here’s how the ordinance implements the plan:
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1. Expands Housing Opportunities Across Income Levels
The ordinance updates definitions of attainable housing to include five income tiers, ranging from households earning ≤30% AMI up to those earning ≤150% AMI.
This aligns with the Master Plan’s focus on providing a full spectrum of housing choices for an income diverse population, including workforce housing and middle-income households—groups previously underserved by traditional “affordable housing” categories.
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2. Supports Compact, Mixed Use, and Transit Oriented Development
The ordinance continues and strengthens incentives (density bonuses, height bonuses, fee reimbursements) specifically tied to properties within TOD 1, TOD 2, TOC 1, TOC 2, NMXU, and Form Based Code zones.
This directly supports the Master Plan’s land use priorities:
• directing growth toward mixed-use centers,
• encouraging infill development,
• supporting transit-oriented areas, and
• reducing car-dependence through compact development.
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3. Encourages High Quality, Mixed Income Housing
The ordinance requires attainable units to be:
• Indistinguishable in materials and appearance from market rate units,
• Distributed throughout a project rather than clustered, and
• Maintained as attainable for at least 30 years.
These provisions advance the Master Plan’s equity goals by ensuring mixed income integration and preventing concentration of lower income households, supporting cohesive, healthy, and inclusive neighborhoods.
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4. Improves Administrative Efficiency and Predictability
The ordinance directs the city to:
• Prioritize review and permitting for attainable housing projects,
• Provide express plan review reimbursement, and
• Use administrative site development review when appropriate.
These align with the Master Plan’s governance strategies of streamlining development processes, modernizing regulations, and reducing regulatory barriers that inhibit needed housing production.
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In Summary
Bill No. 2026 17 advances the 2050 Master Plan by:
• Broadening the housing affordability spectrum,
• Incentivizing construction in transit accessible, mixed use areas,
• Ensuring high-quality, integrated attainable housing,
• Streamlining and supporting development processes, and
• Reinforcing the city’s long-term commitment to housing equity, economic mobility, and sustainable urban form.
How Infill Text Amendment 26 0003 TXT1 Implements the 2050 Master Plan
Text Amendment 26 0003 TXT1 revises the city’s zoning code (LVMC Titles 19.12 and 19.18) to update permissions, definitions, and conditions for mixed-use and residential multi-family development. These changes directly support and implement key goals and strategies of the City of Las Vegas 2050 Master Plan by expanding where mixed-use and multi-family housing can be built, modernizing development standards, and aligning city code with current planning practices.
Here’s how:
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1. Expands Locations Where Mixed-Use Development Is Allowed
The amendment broadens mixed-use permissions to all commercial zoning districts —including P O, O, C D, C 1, C 2, and C PB — by making mixed-use a conditional use in these zones.
This directly supports the 2050 Master Plan’s goals to:
• Encourage infill development
• Reinforce mixed-use corridors and centers
• Increase development opportunities within existing commercial areas.
The Master Plan promotes these areas as ideal for compact, walkable, mixed income neighborhoods; the amendment creates the regulatory pathway needed to achieve that.
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2. Increases Housing Supply in Commercial Areas
By permitting Residential, Multi-Family conditionally in C PB, and allowing it in conjunction with mixed-use development, the amendment increases opportunities for multi-family housing in commercial corridors.
This implements Master Plan objectives to:
• Expand housing options in employment and activity centers
• Increase housing variety and density
• Support redevelopment of aging commercial areas
The Master Plan calls for more housing in accessible, amenity-rich areas — this amendment enables exactly that.
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3. Modernizes the Definition of Mixed-Use to Support Flexibility
The mixed-use definition is revised to allow horizontal as well as vertical integration of residential and commercial uses.
This change:
• Matches the Master Plan’s definition of mixed-use, which does not require vertical stacking
• Aligns zoning with the City’s established development practice
• Facilitates easier redevelopment by lessening the need for parcel assemblage
• Enables more practical, market-viable, mixed-use projects
The Master Plan emphasizes “flexible mixed use formats” that adapt to neighborhood contexts—this amendment operationalizes that guidance.
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4. Aligns City Code With State Law (AB 241), Supporting the Plan’s Governance Goals
The Master Plan calls for consistent, modernized regulations and for leveraging state-level policy to enable housing production.
This amendment explicitly:
• Brings Title 19 into conformance with NRS as amended by AB 241
• Allows by-right mixed-use or multi-family development in commercial zones, as required
• Ensures industrial zones (C M, M) remain excluded per the legislation
A zoning code aligned with state law strengthens the Master Plan’s implementation framework and removes outdated regulatory barriers.
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5. Strengthens Citywide Consistency and Predictability for Developers
The amendment clarifies and consolidates conditional use requirements and Special Use Permit provisions, reducing unnecessary public hearing steps.
This supports the Master Plan’s goals to:
• Streamline the development process
• Increase regulatory clarity
• Encourage reinvestment and redevelopment in strategic areas
Consistent standards make mixed use and multifamily projects more feasible.
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In Summary
Text Amendment 26-0003-TXT1 implements the 2050 Master Plan by:
• Enabling mixed use and multi family development in more locations
• Supporting infill, redevelopment, and housing supply increases
• Aligning zoning code with the Plan’s mixed use definition and urban design principles
• Streamlining regulations to encourage investment
• Bringing LVMC into compliance with NRS and AB 241
• Supporting walkability, compact growth, and transit friendly development patterns.
How the Urban Forestry Management Plan Implements & Complements the 2050 Master Plan
The Urban Forestry Management Plan (UFMP) is explicitly designed as a climate, environmental justice, public health, and livability implementation tool for the Las Vegas 2050 Master Plan. The UFMP repeatedly cites and operationalizes the 2050 Master Plan’s goals, metrics, and land use strategies.
Below is a concise breakdown.
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1. Direct Alignment: The UFMP Implements 2050 Master Plan Urban Forestry Goals
The UFMP states that it directly advances the Master Plan’s goal to:
"Prioritize increasing tree canopy across all areas of the city for multiple public health and environmental benefits."
The Master Plan’s own Key Actions — such as planting 60,000 trees, restoring natural features, and expanding access to shade — are embedded into the UFMP’s objectives and long-term planting targets.
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2. Provides the Technical Framework to Achieve 2050 Canopy Targets
The 2050 Master Plan sets specific tree canopy goals:
• 20% canopy by 2035
• 25% canopy by 2050
• 60,000 new trees on public and private land
• 85% of residents living within 1/3 mile of green infrastructure
The UFMP operationalizes these targets by creating:
• A Long-Term Planting Plan with measurable acreage, timelines, and neighborhood-level mapping;
• Priority planting maps showing “shovel-ready” planting locations;
• A species selection framework based on canopy potential, water efficiency, and climate resilience.
This turns the Master Plan’s long-range vision into a tactical planting program.
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3. Advances 2050 Master Plan Climate & Heat Resilience Strategies
The UFMP frames its central purpose as:
“addressing extreme heat through expanded tree canopy” and serving as a component of the city's broader heat-mitigation plan.
This complements the Master Plan’s climate resilience goals by:
• Mapping heat islands across every neighborhood
• Identifying the coolest vs. hottest zones and canopy disparities
• Prioritizing heat-vulnerable communities for planting (equity-focused implementation)
• Using Smart Tree Inventory data to target locations where canopy will have maximum cooling impact.
The UFMP also responds to AB96 (2025), which requires a heat-mitigation plan to be included as an element of master plans.
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4. Supports 2050 Master Plan Equity & Environmental Justice Priorities
The 2050 Plan emphasizes equity throughout the land-use, environmental, and public health elements.
The UFMP complements these priorities by committing to:
• Equitable canopy expansion in low canopy, high heat, and historically underserved neighborhoods
• Focusing on schools, transit corridors, and walk to school routes
• Community surveying (UNLV) to understand willingness, cost barriers and participation patterns
• Tailored outreach to renters, low-income households, and minority communities.
This operationalizes the Master Plan’s environmental justice strategies (e.g., addressing inequitable heat exposure).
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5. Implements Land Use + Environment Strategies of the Master Plan
The UFMP incorporates and advances the Master Plan’s Land Use + Environment recommendations, including:
• Restoring natural features
• Expanding open space connectivity
• Integrating trees into redevelopment and infill
• Using native and adaptive plants to reduce water use and maintenance.
The UFMP also aligns with the Parks and Open Space Plan referenced in the Master Plan, especially around shade goals in parks.
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6. Provides Operational Policies to Enforce Master Plan Objectives
The UFMP delivers the detailed policy mechanisms needed to make the Master Plan enforceable:
• A future Tree Protection Ordinance
• Waiver reform to prevent canopy loss in development
• Utility-compatible planting standards
• Required soil volume, planting standards and survival criteria for new development
• Coordination with capital projects, transit, Public Works, and developers.
These translate the Master Plan’s high-level policies into enforceable regulations, closing the gap between plan and practice.
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7. Integrates with the Master Plan’s Complete Streets & Mobility Goals
The 2050 Plan emphasizes shaded, walkable streets and safe pedestrian corridors.
The UFMP reinforces this by prioritizing:
• Shaded transit stops
• Shaded walkways and bike corridors
• Street tree requirements for development
• Curbside planting standards and root zone design guidance.
Trees become an essential component of transportation design, directly implementing Complete Streets principles.
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8. Advances 2050 Master Plan’s Sustainability & Smart City Vision
The UFMP uses cutting-edge tools:
• LiDAR and AI-enabled Smart Tree Inventory for 32,000+ trees
• Digital twin technology
• Biennial canopy and inventory updates
• Predictive risk analysis
This supports the Master Plan’s goal for Las Vegas to be an innovative, data-driven, climate-smart city.
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9. Strengthens Community Partnerships Called For in the Master Plan
The UFMP echoes the Master Plan’s call for regional collaboration by establishing:
• A regional urban forestry data-sharing network
• Cross-agency coordination with RTC, SNWA, CCSD, Clark County and nonprofits
• Shared planting, training, and outreach programs
• Workforce development and certification pathways.
This operationalizes the Master Plan’s collaborative approach to environmental planning.
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10. Expands Public Health Goals of the Master Plan
The UFMP quantifies and prioritizes health-focused benefits, mirroring Master Plan goals to create a healthier city:
• Stress reduction and improved mental health
• Lower surface temperatures reducing heat illness
• Safer streets and reduced crime (linked to canopy)
• Cleaner air and improved respiratory outcomes.
The UFMP makes trees a core public-health strategy.
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Summary: How the Urban Forestry Master Plan (UFMP) Complements the 2050 Master Plan
The UFMP is the implementation engine for the Master Plan’s environmental, climate, equity, mobility, and public health goals.
It:
• translates high-level policy into technical standards
• embeds equity into planting priorities
• delivers a science-based roadmap for climate resilience
• operationalizes canopy targets
• modernizes regulations and staffing, and
• strengthens regional collaboration.
In short:
The UFMP turns the 2050 Master Plan’s vision for a cooler, healthier, more equitable Las Vegas into an actionable, measurable program.