Clark County Redevelopment Agency - Regular Meeting

Good morning. This is the redevelopment meeting for Wednesday, December 17. I'll turn it over to the county manager.

Good morning, commissioners. Your first item is public comment.

This is the first period for public comment. Anyone wishing to speak on an item on the agenda can come forward now. And because you have a gun, you can speak on anything you wanna speak. My

name is Jimmy Lorson. I am the Spring Valley Area Command Captain for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. First, thank you for having me here today and listen to me. Specifically, thank you to Commissioner Knaff and Commissioner Jones. I couldn't have lucked into two better support partnerships for my area command.

Specifically to Commissioner Jones, thank you for your leadership as it relates to the redevelopment of the Chinatown Corridor which encompasses the Spring Valley Area Area Command. The thing I want to talk to you about today and why it's so important is the public safety aspect of that redevelopment and why it's so important, not just to your constituents, our citizens, but the millions of visitors that come to that area every single year. We know that with Metro we only have so many resources and that's how we force multiply our entities together is through that partnership. And specifically for us, I have three dedicated officer called the SMART team Spring Mountain Anti Crime Resource Team. They're specific to the Chinatown Corridor to try to help with the needs as it relates to crime and help and solve some of that those issues.

But they can only do so much because there are three and of course I do have the rest of the station it's not just those three but it's specifically dedication by them and also sitting in some of the planning and giving off some of the opinions that will help as far as the public safety aspect and what is sorely needed down there. Why this is so important is for us and our Sheriff, Kevin McMehoe, it touches two of his major priorities, and that's the lower crime as well as fatal accidents. And we're talking about this redevelopment and some of the things that are sorely needed down there. You're talking about the lighting conditions, crosswalks that are visible. We have cameras, technology that's going to be placed within that area that will greatly help us not just combating crime solving it as well.

Obviously, we're doing good down there. We could do better. And that's something that's always going to be at the forefront is to make sure that we stay ahead of all these issues and situations and make sure that we combat violent crime as as well as that's all of our goal. I don't have to sit here and tell you that the safety of our citizens is paramount and I know that's obviously built within this plan. So, I want to thank you for your time and the continued partnership and specifically to Commissioner Jones. This is something that's sorely needed. So we appreciate your leadership. Thank

Commissioners. My name is Evan Louie. I'm the chairman of the board of one API Nevada. We are a five zero one c four organization that deals with the advocacy for policies and issues affecting the API community. As you all know, the API community is the fastest growing in The United States as a demographic here in Nevada.

Working with commissioner Jones' office for the redevelopment plan is something that's paramount for our community. I work a lot with anything from the owners of the plazas to a lot of the restaurant establishments along the Spring Valley Corridor, Spring Mountain Corridor. And lot of them are very supportive of these redevelopment efforts. As you all know I also work a lot with the national Asian American community wearing other hats as a board member of API lead representing all the API electeds in The United States. We helped partner with you to produce the first Lunar New Year for the Super Bowl, Commissioner Tick.

In addition to Commissioner NAFT with the launching of the Las Vegas sign for heritage month and many you commissioners and our partnership is very valuable with the county. I spoke extensively with Captain Jimmy Larson who talked a little bit earlier today, also about the public safety issues. As you know, there's car break ins, there's a lot of issues that require video surveillance and public safety for a lot of the businesses along that corridor. We want to work together and further develop that relationship, but we've also helped work with other major Chinatown developments across the country as introductions to Commissioner Jones for our national Chinatown associations and working in parallel to their master site plans or redevelopment plans within other cities to optimize presentation today by Jason. So I just wanna extend my personal support on behalf of our organization, community that thank you for giving us the time to pledge our support.

Thank you.

Good morning commissioner. My name is Tuan Pham. I represent probably several organizations. But first of all, that is one of the organization that I represent is the Asian Chamber of Commerce. Course, the Vietnamese community of Las Vegas and some other community that I'm working with, especially today I understand that the inspiring Spring Mountain gonna be come up for your vote.

I am fully support that. And I wanted to thank you commissioner Justin Jones as well as his team that has been working regionally in the last few years. And of course that I cannot, not to mention that a commissioner in the beginning that is an advocate for the plan and also very supportive of the program. And as I mentioned in the beginning, I am fully support as well as most of the member, all of the member at our organizations are behind the plan and hope that you're going to vote in positive on this plan. Thank you so much.

Good morning commissioners. My name is Rachel Park. I'm a property manager within the Spring Mountain Spring Mountain Road Corridor. I'm here today to express my strong support for the Spring Mountain redevelopment plan. First of all, I really thank thank the planning and redevelopment team for the listening sessions and the consistent communicate with us throughout process.

That engagement has been really truly grateful and meaningful and appreciated. What I really wanted to highlight about this plan is that it brings predictability which we need for a long time. For the first time, property owner has a clear framework to guide decisions. Because of this predictability, we have been able to invest with confidence in Koreatown recently, refreshing building exteriors with new paint, new lighting, upgrading pilot signage and parking lot improvement among other upgrades. I strongly believe that this predictability will allow other owners to plan ahead and commit to long term reinvestment just like us.

Also, the proposed improvement Lightning, Mobility Access, and Streetscape will directly benefit to our tenants and thousands of customers from all over the world who visit Spring Mountain Courier every single day. These changes improve safety and walkability and overall experience for residents and visitors alike. I also appreciate that the plan modernized the design framework to raise overall quality cohesion while still allowing flexibility. This it improved high quality look, but still allowing us to reflect our own culture and unique character. Character.

That balance is critical for us, like culturally rich corridor. Most importantly, this is the first coordinated road map for future upgrade, construction, and redevelopment plan across the corridor. It aligns public improvement with private investment and encourage long term stewardship. We are grateful that our perspectives were heard throughout all this process, and I respectfully urge your approval of this plan so that implementation can begin soon. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good morning commissioners, my name is Catherine Francisco. I am the founder and president of AAPI Chamber of Commerce, where a majority of our members are business owners of Spring Mountain. I'm gonna speak from the heart. I prepared something, but this is really important for us, our members, and the small business owners of Spring Mountain. We wanna thank you.

Thank you for listening to us. Thank you, commissioner Jones, for having an outreach team to come out and listen to the community and listen to the business owners. So on behalf of our members, we are supporting this plan just because all of it is really based on your boots on the ground, being in the neighborhood, and talking to everybody. So I wanna thank commissioner Jones and your team, Jason and Chris. I was a was a witness on a 100 degree in the middle of summer where that district f tent went up, and they're walking the streets, walk speaking to the community and hearing them out.

What do you want with this plan? So we want to support this. We think it's great. 50% all of our members are saying 50% of their businesses are coming from tourism. And what that looks like, let's make it pleasant for them. Let's make crime present. Thank you to the SMART team and the Spring Valley Command also as well. And we want to make sure that experience is good for our visitors, but also good for our small businesses, which is the heartbeat of the economy. Thank you for having us here today.

Thank you.

Hi everyone, hi commissioners. My name is Petrania Pooncewan. I'm the founder and principal of Petrania Media LLC, a small business here in Southern Nevada. I also got the honor of being one of consultants here, a part of this plan too. So I have been part, like Catherine said before, been part of this initiative, this plan and this hope from the very beginning.

And I truly, truly believe, and you'll see a lot of people speaking today, and they're truly passionate about this. This is something as an Asian American, as a former storyteller, former journalist, I've told many stories about the Chinatown area. And now as a business owner, I get a chance to actually work and being the voice of many of the small businesses that can't be here today. Many of them, and you'll see those who are willing to speak, people like Colin, who's here today, who's been a vocal advocate for this plan. But there are many people out there who either their cultural barriers, language barriers, or maybe they just don't have the time to be here and to speak in front of all of you.

And I just wanna be that voice for those other businesses who really believe in what's happening here. Of the group coming together, whether it be law enforcement, small business owners, nonprofits, all of us coming together because we believe in this effort to make this corridor something that's open and something that's accessible and something that is safe for the people who use this place, whether they be tourists or locals. And as someone who worked with these businesses, I've seen firsthand the challenges, especially this year, that they're dealing with the economy, keeping the doors open, keeping their staff in place. And if they can get the help of the commissioners of this plan being approved, then they feel safe. They feel like they could come here and work and be a part of this community in a whole way.

And I fully support this plan, and I support the people behind it. And thank you for all your hard work this year. I've seen it firsthand that they work so hard to make this happen. So I hope that you will support this plan as well for the entire community that are standing behind us. Thank you so much.

Thank you. No clapping.

I wish I could wing it like, Patrania. Need to get some media training from her. I'm gonna read though. Good morning, fabulous commissioners of, Clark County. My name is Colin Fukunaga of Fuku Burger, 3429 South Jones in the Spring Mountain Center.

I'm here today to give 100% support to the inspiring Spring Mountain redevelopment plan. It's pretty amazing to finally see an emphasis on the Spring Mountain Corridor, aka Chinatown Vegas. I first launched my business as a food truck in 2010 next to the Bank of America on Wynn Road. Back then, I would tell locals where to find the business on social media and in person. The most common response I had then was, we have a Chinatown in Las Vegas.

Fast forward to today, long gone are all the dilapidated automotive strip malls. We now have millions and millions of dollars invested in restaurants, bars, and shopping destinations. Besides the strip in downtown, Las Vegas Chinatown is bringing in the most revenue and tax dollars to the county and the state. But I've never seen a single commercial from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority directing traffic to us. We're doing all that heavy lifting on our own.

But today, I'd like to bring up more pressing concerns that I have to be addressed, and that is the safety of our guests and staff. It's very obvious that we are having an outrageous number of vehicle related pedestrian deaths in Southern Nevada. On any given night, I see dozens and dozens of pedestrians jaywalking on Jones to and from Mountain View Plaza to Spring Mountain Center. It's like watching a live version of Frogger. It's extremely dangerous especially at night.

It's like the lighting is not good, folks are having cocktails and karaoke at Cafe Modo then darting across the street to grab a burger in my restaurant. Vehicles are always driving faster than the posted speed limit, a recipe for disaster. All of this is very preventable. We need a well lit crosswalk. This will one, slow down traffic which counter intuitively data has support to actually help surrounding businesses.

And two, most importantly, help pedestrians legally and safely cross Jones Boulevard. In closing, I'd like to thank the development team for hearing this out. This should be the first and most important step to redevelop Chinatown. I hope this plan is adopted because I say this with all sincerity, you'll be saving lives. Thank you again.

Thank you. Anyone else wishing to speak? Seeing no, we'll close the public hearing and turn it over to county manager.

Commissioners, your next item is approval of the minutes of the regular meeting on 07/16/2025.

Mister chair, I move approval of the minutes.

There's a motion to approve the minutes cast to vote. That motion passes.

Commissioners, your next item is approval of the agenda with the inclusion of any emergency items and deletion of any items. Staff is recommending the deletion of items number seven and eight.

With the deletions written to the record, I move approval of the agenda.

Motion to approve the agenda, cast your vote. That motion passes.

Commissioners, your next item is to review the current Clark County Redevelopment Agency fund balance and expect FY '26 revenue per district. As means of introduction on this item, and you have items following this related to Spring Mountain and other pieces, I think as you guys will recall, you asked for a budget update at each RDA so that we would know kind of fund balance and what those expenditures kind of look like. Ms. Coleman will go through the budget update, but I think one piece that I wanna highlight and make sure we kind of communicate about and at least get feedback on is related to follow-up from the last meeting related to the budget, what was tied to, as you recall, in commercial center, the two components of demolition versus rehab and kind of dialogue around what both of those costs look like and an update from Ms. Coleman and Ms.

Kramer. So with that, I'll turn it over to Ms. Coleman and then we can move forward with that.

Good morning commissioners, members of the board. The budget overview that we have today. So for our fund balance, we actually have 44,500,000.0 in cash. That excludes all things that you've already taken action on. Estimated revenues, and so this is what we anticipate as revenues.

This includes all of the new areas, so we're looking at close to over $20,000,000 so $20,800,000 in revenue, and you can see the estimated revenue coming from each redevelopment area. Current allocation, so back in May when we did this presentation, there were allocations that the board had previously approved or obligated. This is an update to that number. So commercial center planning, as you recall, we did some planning. We hired our consultant to develop a plan.

There are still a few funds available left over should the board decide to do some additional work on that. Grease trap grants, we initially allocated half $1,000,000 to this project. We have one out outstanding tenant who has not submitted for reimbursement yet, and so that is that $90,000 that you see sitting there. We have the real property improvement grant for commercial center, which this board approved for $500,000. We have received any applications for that particular grant at this time.

Commercial center security, you'll recall we provide 24 armed security for commercial center, also our assets. The original contract was roughly $1,200,000. This is the remaining balance of that contract. Demolition for 925 East Sahara Avenue, we there was an original allocation of roughly $2,600,000. This is the remaining portion.

That building should be coming down between the January and February. The remediation is currently happening right now to address the asbestos. Duck Creek acquisition, so the property's located in Commissioner Gibson's district. There are two properties currently in escrow, and that is the value of those two contracts. Cultural enhancements, the this was art projects, mural projects happening in Chinatown.

We've expended about half of that. The original budget was about 80,000. And then the others are just miscellaneous payments that we have to cover regarding could be utilities and different things like that. So roughly, we have about $6,500,000 in expenditures that have not tapped into the fund balance, that 44,000,000. We do have some requested expenditures.

Originally, the board received information about doing a visitor center in Chinatown. That first year, it covered the lease for the first year, it covered tenant improvements for the first year, and it also covered staffing of that facility. We're providing a little bit more flexibility, however, we've kept the dollar amount the same, and so these funds could be used for real estate leases or purchase at the direction of budget, grants and incentives, and we will talk through our next item regarding grants and incentives. Placemaking, this particular item, there was a request to increase originally this. Part of that request is due to providing funding to work with our comprehensive planning to establish an overlay district.

And then the other 100,000 is to work with our arts department to develop a utility art box program. And so there was a $350,000 increase in this particular budget item. For Duck Creek in Richmond, originally we had approximately 5,000,000 in real estate acquisitions. As I noted in current allocations, there are two properties currently in escrow, so we reduced that amount. There's currently $1,600,000 left for that.

We have not tapped into the 750,000 for grants and incentives, and we have not tapped into the 250,000 for place making. And then finally we have Commercial Center. We own a number of assets in Commercial Center. As executive director Schiller mentioned, at our last meeting we had discussion regarding New Orleans Square and moving forward with the redevelopment plan for Commercial Center. There were opportunity for discussion around rehabbing the one building that we own, which is 900 Liberace or New Orleans Square, or demoing that building.

What you have here are the pricing. Since May, obviously, there's been inflation, so these numbers have increased about six percent since we last had the conversation. Again, there was $9,800,000 that was previously allocated for redevelopment activity in Commercial Center. And some other items that the redevelopment plan called for that we have not taken any action on. And because we haven't taken any action on them, we do not have estimated costs for that re striping or doing other types of construction in Commercial Center.

And with that, I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Know at the last meeting you had the back and forth on New Orleans Square. Can you just get an update on what's there were some suggestions and what's progressed since then?

Yes. I still would like to to rehab it. It's a historic building. I'm working with with other with Live Nation and some other groups to to find some tenants that would take over management of it, it's just in the works. We're we're we're kind of letting things percolate right now. We spent a lot of money. We have a great plan, but we're trying to see if the private developers are coming back. Hopefully, is coming back. They're in the process of finishing that and some other groups. But I'm still hoping to come back to you with a proposal to rehab the New Orleans Square that would be acceptable to the board.

So is there a time frame on it? Mean, there were suggestions last time around of taking a look at a master developer. I guess I'm trying to understand what has actually happened in the last six months.

Not a thing. I've just let it kind of die down and let's see what happens with Live Nation in that center in Southwest Corner. If they're gonna come forward and officially do something, I'll meet with them today in Maryland. But honestly, we wanted to kind of see where we're at. The building, the yellow building is going to come down in the next couple of months as Sean said. And so, it's there's a lot of things in motion, but I don't have a plan right now other than I wanna keep the New Orleans Square Building and rehab it.

Chairman, a

couple things. One, I guess I would

re support that initiative to bring in a master developer. I think that's probably what makes sense and what we need. Aside from that, Ms. Coleman, if you could take us one slide back. I'm just trying to better understand how we arrived at those cost estimates for, I guess, both the rehab and the demo, but particularly the rehab costs given the scope of the project seem a little light. How did we arrive at those two estimates?

So we, Commissioner Knaff, we worked with our real property management team that does this type of work. These are their estimates based on what we can see face value. We have not gone into the buildings to do any type of testing.

On the rehab specifically, because of the complexity of the neighbor that might be even in the age of the building, there might be significantly more. That's just an estimate.

These are just estimates. We have not actually hired someone to walk through the building and give us, but these are estimates based on the work that Real Property Management does around the valley for all of county property.

Thank you.

Commissioners Lisa Kramer, I would just like to add that this is just to bring the building up to code. This does not include any type of tenant improvements as you go in and deal with the existing lessees. And so this is just our estimate based on bringing everything up to code.

And with the rehab, there are tenants there that we gotta do something with during this lengthy rehab, I'm assuming.

That is correct. So we would be required to relocate them, probably find space close in the area if they want to come back. Most of the tenants right now are on month to month leases. So as long as we give them appropriate notice, but as a gesture of good faith, we do know that there are some tenants who like the area and like to be in the area, so we'd want to offer them the opportunity to come back.

Thank you. And then just last question. On the current allocation slide, you're showing an additional $300,000 left to be paid out on the commercial center security contract?

That is correct.

So presumably that run out soon and then we'll have to make another allocation?

That is correct.

Okay, thank you.

Mr. Chair, can I just suggest, I mean I get to let it percolate, I don't wanna just, this is the biggest asset we have in the RDA? There's lots of opportunities. I've walked redevelopment areas with our lead, the lead from Gensler. I just feel like there hasn't been any progress on Spring Mountain. Obviously we're, pardon my French, but kicking ass and taking names. And it would be nice if we actually got somewhere on Commercial Center so I don't, can we schedule regular RDAs so we don't go six months and then really don't have much of an update? That would be my ask.

I'm happy to update you every month. It's just I frankly thought that Spring Mountain was much more important, so what you're doing is the key to the RDA. I'm happy to support spending a lot of the money that comes out of my area for your area. I think that Chinatown is really the number one area we need to focus on. But we do have an asset, the county has an asset, not the redevelopment area with that parking lot.

So we got figure out what we're gonna do with the parking lot. The lawyers have are trying to figure out how I can utilize the parking lot. I'm working with them, but it's it's it's it's really gonna depend on whether Live Nation goes forward with that building in the South West Corner. I believe they they wanna continue. They're they're finding it's it's gonna be cost more money than they thought it was gonna cost, but I'm pretty confident they're gonna do that.

But until they officially say, yes. We're doing it. We don't we really don't know what we're gonna do with the with the parking lot or the other areas around it. I'll have to meet every month and talk it through, we can sit down with the lawyers and you can see my whole vision for what I wanna do. Honestly, right now, was focused on your area.

I just wanted to clarify, Lisa, or Shani. The issue of kind of worst case scenario on the high end and on the two choices, I mean, as we move forward and we bring it back, in terms of that, when I look at like the $15,000,000 I think what you're also indicating is once you're in there, it's anticipated that number would go up, right? Yes. And we'd have to estimate that into that as we bring the items forward. I just want to make sure I know.

Really, for my purposes, the issue of knowing what dollars there sitting there as you guys are making decisions even as it relates to Chinatown in terms of that status. So to Commissioner Jones' point, I think we could probably bring something back, and you can the timeframe on that. Part B to that is I think the parking issue, as you know, parking lot has deed restrictions which tie into that. And Mr. Rogan can probably speak to that because I think he's looked at those different components. But I think it's, I don't know that I would say it's simple, it's complicated in terms of the moving forward component tied to that, correct?

You Director Jeff Rogan, Deputy District Attorney. Yes, we have met with the chair on this issue. It quite complicated. We're looking for a path forward and it's dependent upon the ultimate vision for a commercial center that needs to be directed by the board.

Alright, so Justin and I will meet monthly with the lawyer and, try to figure out where we're going. If that's okay. Thanks Michael. You're welcome

to That's join fine. I guess I would just stress the urgency if we are, I think in the not too distant future, we're going have to reallocate more money for security, more money for other maintenance costs. And so I do think there is a bit of a clock on us.

All right.

Do we need a motion on this?

And I just wanted to clarify for the meetings, I hear the chair referencing meetings outside of the RDA, would you like, I'm just gonna ask, do you want the RDA meeting scheduled in a thirty day timeframe, sixty day timeframe? At

your Let's Let's your do sixty days just because we got holidays coming up, so sixty days and then circle back in February.

Alright. There's

a motion

to cast your vote.

Do we

need a motion? We don't need a motion. I thought you received the report.

Commissioners, your next item is to Are we voting? There a No. A presentation. Commissioners, your next item is to receive a report from staff on the visioning and redevelopment plan for Clark County's Chinatown and Koreatown districts.

Mr. Chair, this is super exciting. This has been more than eighteen months in process, and this is inspiring String Mountain redevelopment plan. It's something, as you heard from a lot of those who spoke in the first public comment period, it's been a year and a half of listening, collaboration, and building trust within the corridor. This is one of the most culturally significant corridors in all of Clark County, and it's home to hundreds of immigrant owned businesses.

You heard from some of them here today, and it is a huge driver of the economy, not just for locals, but also tourists. And for too long, you've really had sort of a hodgepodge, you had a family who invested there in Chinatown Plaza thirty years ago, and it has really grown organically since that time. This plan is different. It's community led, it's culturally grounded, and it's built for implementation, most importantly. It's not about changing the identity of Chinatown, it's really about protecting it while ensuring that the corridor is safer, more resilient, and better equipped for the future.

I just want to give a shout out to the many who have contributed to this plan over the last eighteen plus months. In particular, Ms. Coleman has been instrumental in hiring the consultants and overseeing that process. You've heard from one of the consultants, Petrania here today, but also Rafi and Purdue Marion were instrumental in this process. Metro Spring Valley Area Command, shout out to the SMART team and Captain Larsen, they've been tremendous in being out there all along this process, walking the corridors, meeting with business owners to truly listen and understand what needs to happen to keep people in the corridor safe more than anything else.

Thank you to the AAPI Chamber and Asian Chamber and the many other groups who have participated throughout this process to make it something that is truly organically grown from the bottom up from the community. I want to recognize Jason Dagger, my commission analyst, who has really led the finalization of this plan for the last year or so. And he's been out there, as you've heard, knocking on doors and talking to business owners. We've made some dumplings over the last year and a half, and we've talked to a lot of dumpling restaurant owners, boba tea owners, property managers as you heard here today, and really absorbed all of that input in order to create a document that I think if you've seen it, it's pretty awesome. So I just want to give Jason, Shaunie, and the team just a shout out for the tremendous amount of investment that went to getting to today.

So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Jason.

Perfect, thank you boss. And good morning Chair and members of the redevelopment agency. For the record, my name is Jason Dagger and I serve as the Commission District Analyst for Commissioner Jones and I had the privilege of serving as the county project lead for the inspiring Spring Mountain redevelopment plan. What is before you today represents nearly two years of community engagement, technical analysis, and coordination across county departments and partner agencies. The redevelopment plan establishes the policy foundation for future investments, zoning tools, grants, and public improvements in Las Vegas Chinatown.

I want to start by grounding us in the geography of this redevelopment plan. This map shows the two redevelopment areas located on Spring Mountain roughly bounded by the I-fifteen, Rainbow Boulevard, DI and Twain. This area functions as the cultural and economic heart of Las Vegas Chinatown as it's minutes from the Strip, Allegiant Stadium and the Harry Reid International Airport. These two areas operate under the redevelopment plan and the implementation frame work. Throughout the planning process, the community consistently described Spring Mountain as being at a crossroads.

The corridor continues to thrive culturally and economically while also facing increasing pressures. These include pedestrian safety challenges as you heard today from our friends and parking challenges, extreme heat exposure, aging commercial centers, crime concerns related to vehicle break ins and displacement risks associated with rising rents. The community expressed a desire to address these challenges while maintaining the character and identity that defined Chinatown. This slide visually captures the dual reality of the corridor. As you see on the left, some areas feature strong cultural architecture, gateways and plazas.

Other areas I see on the right include vacant storefronts, underutilized shopping centers and development patterns that will no longer meet current needs. This range of conditions supports the need for a coordinated redevelopment strategy. That balance is reflected in the plan's vision. The vision establishes Chinatown as a living cultural district, a center for small business activity and a corridor where heritage innovation move forward together. It serves as a consistent reference point throughout the planning process.

To support the vision, plan is grounded in five guiding principles, inclusivity, accessibility, transparency, respect and accountability. Just some examples here, the outreach was conducted in multiple languages, community feedback was directly connected to recommendations and strategies addressing displacement were incorporated early in the plan's development. The planning process relied heavily on direct community input. More than 1,100 survey responses were collected, there was eight stakeholder round tables held with small businesses, property managers, non profits and cultural organizations. Outreach include pop ups at night markets, plazas, Lunar New Year festivals, as well as several youth engagement sessions.

Materials were provided in English, Chinese and Spanish. The Metro Smart team, as you see, Micah, Ike and Julia also worked closely with the county and the redevelopment agency to help shape public safety and security strategies based on current conditions of the corridor. Across engagement methods, several priorities emerged consistently. This include the need for safer crossings, calmer traffic, shade and heat protection, parking management and cultural visibility. And this is somewhat anecdotal.

This is early input was captured during the launch event in May 2024. We had a bunch of large boards, Commissioner Segibulun was there, and we asked folks what would you like to see on Spring Mountain in the future. And responses reflect strong alignment across languages and age groups. The common themes included shade, pedestrian safety, lighting, gathering spaces, public art and overall corridor cleanliness. Following the launch, those ideas were tested through a corridor wide survey conducted earlier this year.

Survey results showed strong support for lighting improvements, pedestrian safety, shade infrastructure, murals and public art, gathering spaces and facade improvements. The scale of activity within the corridor underscores the importance of these efforts. The Spring Mountain area includes more than 1,500 businesses, approximately 40% of them being service, oriented. The corridor also supports more than 14,000 employees, making it a significant employment and tourism center within Clark County. The plan includes eight goals addressing mobility, economic vitality, cultural heritage, sustainability, safety, arts, tourism and housing.

The full plan spans 99 pages and includes detailed implementation guidance, especially the last chapter, the Action Matrix. In the interest of time for today's presentation, I'm going to focus on four of the goals and a few catalyst projects that will return to the body in the coming months. Throughout the planning process, business owners were very clear. They were proud of this corridor but many were operating aging buildings with limited access to capital and under increasing cost pressures. This goal responds directly to those realities.

Beyond the Corridor Improvement Grant Program, which will be item number six today, this goal also establishes a longer term economic framework for the corridor. It supports flexible mixed use and creative economy uses, encourages adaptive reuse of existing commercial centers, and strengthens partnerships around workforce development. These strategies are intended to help businesses stay, grow and reinvest rather than being pushed out by rising costs or changing market pressures. The underlying intent of this goal is stability. Economic activity should circulate within the district, legacy business should be supported and growth should benefit people who built this corridor and continue to operate there today.

Spring Mountain experiences extreme heat, heavy auto traffic and infrastructure that was not designed for today's pedestrian activity or business intensity. This goal focuses on making the corridor more functional, comfortable and resilient over time. The plan directs the County to invest in shade trees, shade structures and green infrastructure along key pedestrian routes. It also calls for lighting, way finding and street improvements that support safer crossings and clear movement throughout the corridor. These investments improve day to day usability for residents, workers and visitors.

Parking and circulation are also addressed. If you've ever been to Chinatown, you know parking is probably one of the biggest concerns, biggest talks about concerns. And we address that in a plan. Solutions include parking garages at key locations, managing event parking and supporting mid rise mixed use development in exchange for public benefits such as plazas, pocket parks and pedestrian amenities. Importantly these infrastructure strategies were developed in coordination with Metro's smart team.

Improvements to lighting, visibility and activity levels are intended to support public safety and crime prevention through design and activation. Chinatown's identity is one of its greatest assets. The plan treats cultural expression, public art and community gathering spaces as core elements of the public realm rather than optional enhancements. This goal advances a coordinated approach to public art, cultural programming, and creative spaces throughout the corridor. It supports heritage arts, youth led projects, and temporary activations that bring activities to streets, plazas and underutilized spaces.

Over time this goal helps ensure that Chinatown remains a place where culture is visible, supported and integrated into everyday activity. Goal seven focuses on positioning Las Vegas Chinatown as a recognizable year round destination. You heard from Catherine earlier that 50% of customers visitors are tourists in Chinatown. The corridor already attracts visitors for dining and cultural experiences, but navigation, visibility and identity are inconsistent. This goal addresses those gaps through a coordinated branding, way finding and programming plan.

The plan calls for a cohesive Chinatown brand, enhanced gateways and clear arrival moments along the corridor. It also includes multilingual signage and visitor tools that make the area easier to navigate and residents and tourists alike. Programming plays a central role. Food festivals, night markets, walking tours and events help extend visitor stays and supports local businesses. These activities also strengthen Chinatown's presence within the broader regional tourism landscape.

Over time, the plan supports partnerships that integrate Chinatown into regional tourism efforts leveraging its proximity to the Strip, downtown, and the airport. The outcome is a district that is easy to find, easy to experience, and clearly identifiable as Las Vegas Chinatown. I want to pause on one example that shows how this plan is already moving forward from vision to action. The Chinatown mural art project was one of the most consistent requests we heard from the community. Murals reinforce culture identity, increase visibility and contribute to a stronger sense of safety and activity along the corridor.

The first mural launched under this plan is a dragon painted by local Asian American artist, Gier Duran, curated by Scionic Artworks, Paco Alvarez. It is located at Golden Dragon Park, home to the nationally recognized coffee shop, Gaby Coffee. What is important here is that these murals are being developed in coordination with property and business owners. That shared ownership helps ensure long term stewardship and reflects the broader approach of this plan. Early action, visible results and strong community buy in.

Chair and members, this brings us to the quarter improvement grant program which is the most immediate and tangible outcomes of this plan. From a redevelopment standpoint, this program is about RDA's return on investment. These targeted improvements are designed to remove blighting conditions, improve property performance and unlock private reinvestment. As properties improve, values increase, business expand, jobs are created and the long term tax value grows. With that Director Coleman will walk you through the Corridor Improvement Grant that is before you today.

Jason, thank you so much. Members of the board, so this is actually item number six on your RDA agenda, the allocation of the $750,000 I'm just gonna walk through this. Y'all have an opportunity to vote on the item.

Sorry, madam director. If we could just open that item too, then we'll hear them in conjunction so that we are following open meeting law.

So the next item is to approve and authorize the allocation of 750,000 to the Chinatown Improvement Grant Program to assist with district enhancement and improvements to rule properly located within Chinatown and Koreatown districts, authorize the county manager or is designated to take other action as necessary?

So the Chinatown Corridor Improvement Grant is a grant that's designed to focus on some of the challenges that we've already heard today related to safety and security. We want to be supportive of our small businesses, so we're looking at opportunities with storefront and facade improvements. We wanna make sure we are sensitive and respectful of cultural identity, mobility, and circulation improvements. Applicants need to be located in the two redevelopment areas associated with either Chinatown or Koreatown. There's a slight separation between, but we've grouped them all together for the purpose of this grant.

Awardees will receive up to $25,000 in base funding. However, we do recognize that there are some larger plazas in Chinatown, and so for those based on acreage, they can get up to $75,000 This is a matching grant, and so property owners are required to contribute at least 25% of the funds for this grant. More importantly, this program includes anti displacement protections, including a five year maintenance covenant and twelve month tenant protection clause. These safeguards ensure public investment strengthens the corridor. Approval of the grant program allows the redevelopment agency to move forward quickly, so we'd like to see those quick wins.

We had some conversation about making sure we're moving the needle. And so if approved today, staff intends to launch this program in January. We will be hosting some informational sessions within the corridor to get everybody prepared for this. And so with that, I'm happy to answer any questions specifically about the grant. And if not, I'll turn it back over to Jason so he can finish the presentation.

And I'll just chime in real fast on the security piece. This is on the private parcels, the plazas, but it's complementary of what we're doing working with Public Works on the improvements along Spring Mountain and Jones, as you heard Colin talk about before, where we have a partnership with Metro and Flock Security to implement license plate reader cameras along the corridor including the crosswalk that's currently constructed between Chinatown Plaza and Shanghai Plaza. Those cameras will be implemented on that crosswalk and future improvements that will go along in the corridor.

So, we take a vote now or are we going to hold off? I just want to make a comment. I'm not sure how you came up with $750,000, but it ought to be at least a million. You have a huge area there.

We're gonna start with $7.50, and then if we need more, then we'll come back. But, thank you. We appreciate that. Think Jason's got some information.

Jason has a couple more slides to go through and then we'll be able to vote on this item.

Just to be clear, they'll be voted together or as separate agenda

We can take them as separate items.

Thank you. In addition to near term tools, the plan also establishes long term policy tools to guide future investment. This is through the Chinatown Overlay District. As a history lesson, in 2021, the board removed the Asian design overlay District because it no longer reflected the need of the corridor. This new overlay will be designed to respond to current conditions and community priorities.

The overlay district applies to future development and significant renovations for buildings within the corridor. It provides clarity and predictability for property owners, developers, and the community by setting shared expectations from the outset. Key elements include architectural and signage standards that reinforce identity while allowing flexibility, requirements that improve walkability, shade and lighting and design standards that support active pedestrian oriented streets along Spring Mountain Road. The overlay also allows for night markets, outdoor dining and temporary cultural events. To advance this work, the county will issue a request for proposal to hire a qualified planning and urban design consultant.

A draft scope of work has already been prepared and the overlay will return to this body as a Title 30 action following its own public process. Alongside policy tools, the plan also focuses on how the corridor looks, feels and functions day to day. The place making, branding and way finding initiative translates Chinatown's cultural identity into visible coordinated improvements across the public realm. The goal is to create a cohesive district experience across both redevelopment areas rather than isolated improvements. This initiative includes a unified Chinatown brand, a comprehensive way finding system for pedestrians and vehicles, enhanced gateways and street light banners, Chinatown themed bus shelters and integrated trash bins, public safety signage developed in partnership with Metro, and multilingual signage to improve accessibility.

Together these elements make the corridor easier to navigate, more welcoming, and more recognizable as a destination. They also support multiple goals at once including mobility, safety, tourism, and economic vitality. To implement this initiative, the county will also hire a consultant team to lead the work. A scope of work has been developed to ensure alignment with the redevelopment plan and community priorities. And with that chair and members, this plan provides a clear community informed framework for redevelopment and one of Clark County's most important cultural corridors. I'm happy to answer any questions.

Commissioner Left.

Sure, thank you Mr. Chairman. First, congratulations Commissioner Jones to you and your team. This has been really well thought out and meticulously written up and provides for us an opportunity to really understand what the vision is and hopefully that accelerate the implementation of it. I know it will.

I am particularly really excited watching this presentation about some of the way finding, place making elements of it, but it dawns on me that quite a few of these elements have a significant public work implication. Maybe this is a question for Commissioner Jones, it would be my hope that you are getting no resistance or will get no resistance from that department, that they've been fully engaged in the process. If not, maybe management can make sure that that's happening because there's a significant piece of this that has to go through, that will go through public works. And to me, those are among many elements of this project, those have an opportunity to really change things and do things a little bit differently than we ever have in the county and have a big impact. I

would say Public Works has been fantastic to work with over the last two Obviously a lot of the improvements that are gonna happen along Spring Mountain will be roadway improvements, and it includes in the core of the area reducing one lane of westbound traffic so that we have additional pedestrian realm space so that we could widen those sidewalks and put in the trees. And they've been fantastic. If you go to Spring Mountain right now, you can see sort of the first evidence of that. The crosswalk poles between Chinatown Plaza and Shanghai Plaza are painted red. They are the only red painted poles in all of Nevada, maybe the country.

And that was at our request, and incorporated the security cameras, the down lighting on the poles, and we have worked very closely with their team in public works to incorporate the way finding signage and identify pole opportunities that will allow for not just the required lighting, but also accommodate signage. So they have caught the vision, and I think that that's good news for the future as you look at other districts around the stadium and other areas.

Thank you, I'm thrilled to hear that.

I also gotta give a shout out to Real Property Management. Although I was sad that we had to pull off one agenda item today, we were hoping to put under contract a core asset across the street from Chinatown Plaza by way of a lease of that building. It was not for lack of bending over backwards of our RPM team, and in particular Jamie Leary was just fantastic. We all know having been here that than government is we want it to, but the RPM team was fantastic in really trying to make something happen and work with the redevelopment agency to do something cool.

I think you and your team have done an incredible job with this, particularly around utilizing art to expand the you know, the economic infrastructure that's gonna go there. I frequent this area often with my daughter between Munge and Boba. It's really an exciting spot, but really looking forward to what's gonna come out of this. And, again, kudos to and your team and all the participants as well as Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for getting to this point and looking to what's gonna come in the future.

And I just wanna remind you, with the $20,000,000 or more we're getting a year, we could bond that for 200,000,000, which would be a great asset for that. And also the strip, tax money comes into that area too. So make sure that you get a piece of that for so try to bootstrap everything together. But it's it's it's really phenomenal and it's one of the real treasures that's organically grown up here in Las Vegas. So, the fact that you're actually taking that organism and expanding on it is very exciting. This is gonna be many things you have in your legacy, but this is gonna be part of your legacy. So, thank you, Commissioner Jones.

Chairman, so I could make one more comment. Colin mentioned appropriately LVCVA's role. If I can help make sure that they are engaged there, you're 100% right, they're part of our tourism corridor. The investments here only highlight and maximize what they do and create more opportunity for people who might not come here, stay longer, spend more. So in my role there, happy to facilitate anything I can.

And we would welcome that, just to note on the LBCVA's website, the only Asian restaurant that's listed is one that's within a casino. Will have those. We will have further discussions. Just to your point, Mr. Chair, I think it's really about, yes, investments, but the reinvestments that come out of this.

The whole idea of redevelopment is to make those improvements so that the property tax base and the sales tax base goes up so that those dollars go back in the redevelopment area, and it's really a cycle that benefits the county, it creates jobs, and it really improves the safety and the quality of the experience that people have in that corridor. Because we made the decision earlier this year that redevelopment dollars coming into any portion of the RDA, it's not just that it helps Chinatown, it helps the entire RDA so that if it becomes the economic driver of the RDA in the future, then those dollars could be used in other parts of the RDA. So, is there I think we need to go back to number five on here, right, Mr. Brody?

Before we do that, Chair, heard some public comment at the beginning of the meeting. I didn't know if you wanted to reopen another period of public comment

There's for these two a public hearing item. What is the topic for number five?

We've opened both five and six, so public comment on both would be Is

there any public comment on items five or six? Seeing none, we'll close the public comment period. Then, do we need to vote on five or six? Don't need one on six,

Commissioner but I'm about Jones, my recommendation would be the motion to accept the report and direct staff to return this body with a resolution formally adopting this as the vision plan for the Spring Mountain redevelopment plan.

Alright, so then for agenda item number five, I would make a motion to accept the report and direct staff to come back with an item to adopt the plan for Spring Mountain.

Alright. There's a motion cast your vote.

Well, they need to change it to five, actually. We go.

There's a motion to adopt item five. That motion passes.

Special congrats to Jason, Shani, and the entire team. This was a long time coming, so thank you all for making that happen.

Yeah, Jason was a baby before that started.

He's already losing his hair as a result of this plan.

Alright, so is there a motion on item six?

Go to number six.

There's a motion to adopt item six.

Hold on, we gotta wait for the No, We gotta go to six.

It's a motion to approve agenda item six.

There's a motion to approve item six. Cast your vote. And that pass also. Thank you.

Commissioners, that would take us to the next section set aside for public comment.

Alright. This the last period for public comment. Anyone wishing to speak about anything can come forward now. But, you've held your applause, so you're welcome to applaud now. And that's for Commissioner Jones, his all star. Anyway, thank you so much. We'll close the public comment and, that's it for RDA for this week or this month. This year. Happy New Year.