Practically 87% of the state’s land is below federal management, the governor mentioned, which imposes extreme limitations on builders who search so as to add extra provide.
“Development in lots of rural areas of our state is at present constrained by the dearth of developable land,” Lombardo wrote. “Projections point out that Washoe County might run out of developable land by 2027, whereas Clark County might face the identical problem by 2032.”
Washoe County encompasses Reno, whereas Clark County incorporates Las Vegas. They’re the 2 most populous counties within the state.
Lombardo mentioned he has conferred with Nevada’s federal congressional delegation and President Donald Trump concerning the potential assumption of federal land to develop further housing inventory. However he’s additionally searching for the state Legislature’s assist “to advocate for the fast and systematic launch of federal land in Nevada,” he mentioned.
Included within the letter is a draft decision outlining the challenges that the hassle might face. The letter describes in conciliatory language how Lombardo hopes to “work throughout the aisle” with lawmakers to doubtlessly achieve momentum for a takeover of federal land within the state.
However the decision itself makes use of extra charged language, accusing the federal authorities of “infring[ing] upon Nevada’s sovereignty and equality as a state, contradicting the constitutional precept of equal footing and denying Nevada the identical alternatives afforded to different states with minimal federal landholdings.”
The draft decision additionally claims that the federal authorities’s failure to launch the land at hand “limits Nevada’s skill to generate income by way of property taxes, useful resource growth, and financial diversification, forcing an overreliance on industries reminiscent of gaming and tourism.” It goes on to accuse the federal authorities of failing to meet guarantees made to Nevada when it grew to become a state in 1864.
These guarantees “explicitly acknowledged the necessity for federal lands to be systematically disposed of to advertise the state’s growth,” and so they stay “unfulfilled” whereas “perpetuat[ing] an imbalance that hinders Nevada’s skill to supply for its residents,” the draft decision reads.
Lombardo additionally mentioned that continued federal management of the land poses ecological dangers, together with threats of wildfires, and that the huge swath of land managed by the federal government has contributed to “a disaster of affordability, driving up housing prices, limiting alternatives for working households, and exacerbating financial disparities throughout rural and concrete communities.”
HousingWire reached out to the workplaces of Nevada Senate Majority Chief Nicole Cannizzaro and Meeting Speaker Steve Yeager however didn’t obtain a right away reply. However Democratic Meeting Majority Ground Chief Sandra Jauregui mentioned that lawmakers are appearing on this difficulty, and that the governor’s actions should not useful.
“For the previous a number of months, I’ve been working with stakeholders to draft a decision on accessing extra lands for housing wants, and I’ve dedicated to working with them on this important difficulty,” Jauregui instructed HousingWire.
“Accessing land is a vital long-term problem for our state. Nonetheless, we will handle most of the pressing wants of our group proper now by taking motion on potential veto overrides which might be on the chief clerk’s desk.”
One ongoing motion within the state’s Senate takes intention at firms shopping for up single-family properties to transform them into leases. Lombardo beforehand vetoed a invoice that may have capped the variety of properties that might be bought, drawing ire from Democrats. Jauregui mentioned that the governor has room to exhibit a bipartisan dedication to the difficulty.
“If Gov. Lombardo is severe about tackling housing affordability and never simply writing letters, he ought to work with legislative Democrats and Republicans to supply fast motion for Nevada households,” she mentioned.
Early final yr, Democrats aimed to spotlight a sequence of vetoes the governor issued in 2023. That motion occurred across the identical time then-President Joe Biden visited Las Vegas to advertise his administration’s housing insurance policies. And final week, native reporting mentioned that the Legislature is holding again 4 of his vetoed payments from 2023 in an effort to doubtlessly override them later this yr.
Earlier this month, U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) launched a invoice designed to make extra land accessible for housing growth in Washoe County, in addition to so as to add new tribal companies and outside recreation facilities. Rosen beforehand launched the invoice within the Senate and it went to the ground for wider deliberation, however it didn’t be accredited.
