Clark County s Comprehensive Plan Monitoring Report provides statistical indicators showing how growth is occurring in Clark County and the local cities. It tracks several key indicators such as population and employment growth rates, the price of housing, land absorption, and patterns of development. Concurrency is the term for the GMA requirement that needed services be in place or planned for before new development is approved. Concurrency for water, sewer, and transportation facilities is a requirement of the state s Growth Management Act. Before a new development is approved, the comprehensive plan requires that sewers and water must be in place.
Critical areas are environmentally sensitive lands that are protected in some way.
GMA requires that development standards identify and protect wetlands, sensitive fish and wildlife habitat areas, critical recharge areas for groundwater aquifers, flood-prone areas, and geological hazardous areas, such as landslide areas, earthquake fault zones, and steep slopes. Density means the number of housing units per acre when used to describe residential development or area. For example, countywide buildable land inventories assume that single family homes will be developed at an average of six units per acre, not including roads, stormwater facilities or parks. Its most important use is as a decision-making tool for identifying, maintaining, protecting and improving the natural and built environments. It requires that cities and counties coordinate with one another in comprehensive land use planning, and provides a range of goals and requirements.