How items get on the public hearing agenda

Items reach the public hearing agenda in a number of ways:

• Routine items such as bid openings and awards are placed on the council’s agenda by the Clerk to the Council after initial review by the county’s purchasing division.
• Items requiring more review, such as supplemental appropriations, authorization for some contracts between the county and other parties and grant proposals, may be discussed by the council and county staff in the council’s less-formal weekly meeting called Board Time or in work sessions. After issues have been reviewed and relevant information has been compiled, items are placed on the council's agenda.
• New ordinances, ordinance amendments and other substantive items can take months to get to the council’s formal hearing agenda. These items often are reviewed by the council in several work sessions. Sometimes proposed ordinances or amendments also are reviewed by citizen advisory groups, ad hoc citizens work groups or other parties who have expressed an interest in the subject area.
• Ordinances involving changes in land-use policy, such as zoning, are first heard by the Clark County Planning Commission, which submits its recommendations to the council for a final decision.
• Appeals of land-use hearings examiner decisions come to the council after one or more interested parties appeals the decision. Unlike other items the council considers, land-use appeals are reviewed in a quasi-judicial manner. Because of this legality, land-use appeals are reviewed in public meetings where the council does not take public comments. The council is required by law to limit its review to only the materials available to the hearings examiner and any written arguments as to why the examiner’s decision was correct or incorrect.

Party of Record

If you are a party of record, you are placed on a list to receive meeting notices and information about the project under review. Anyone can become a party of record by attending the hearings examiner hearing and signing the party-of-record sign-up sheet. You also can contact the county’s land-use development staff at (360) 397-2375 ext. 4997 and ask to become a party of record. People directly involved in the land-use issue under review, such as project applicants or neighbors who live within a certain distance of the project, are automatically parties of record.