Two Republican politicians in Nevada, Governor Joe Lombardo and U.S. Representative Mark Amodei, are focusing on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) control over land in the Las Vegas Valley as a potential solution to the region’s housing crisis. The BLM manages about 85% of the land in the valley, and both politicians argue that releasing more federal land for development could help alleviate the housing shortage.
Governor Lombardo has taken steps to address this issue by signing a memorandum with the BLM to identify land available for disposal and introducing legislation that allocates $250 million in state resources to support housing development. Meanwhile, Rep. Amodei has proposed an amendment to sell over 93,000 acres of public land in Nevada, including significant portions in Clark and Washoe counties, to expedite access to land for affordable housing projects. This move has faced opposition from several Democratic lawmakers.
The Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act of 1998 was intended to facilitate the disposal of federal land, but only a small fraction has been released since its passage. Critics, including former BLM employee Mike Ford and Southern Nevada Home Builders Association CEO Tina Frias, argue that the slow pace of land disposal is exacerbating the housing crisis. They emphasize the need for more efficient federal processes to meet the growing housing and commercial demands of the rapidly expanding region.
