History
NARA Heroes
A special recognition is deserving to those who have been cornerstones in the establishment, support, and advocacy of our Northwest Area Resident's Association (NARA) neighborhood association, and with Rural Preservation as a City of Las Vegas Title #19 Overlay District ordinance-based historic suburban/rural lifestyle.
Dr. Linda E. Young
CCSD Trustee
District C
Matt Callister, esq.
CLV Councilman
Ward 6
Mr. Joe Mitchell
Special Assistant
Ward 5
Dina Neal, esq.
Assemblywoman
District 7
Chuck Bennion, esq.
NARA Former President
Marilyn K. Kirkpatrick
Clark Co. Commissioner
District B
See the following pages for individual recognition narratives.
Dr. Linda E. Young
CCSD Trustee
District C
Linda gets all the credit for starting NARA. In November of 1994, a developer made an application for apartments and high-density housing on __ acres at Rancho Drive and Gowan Avenue with only Bradley Blvd. as a buffer. This was a clear zoning infringement on our very suburban/ rural community. Going door to door, Linda organized the immediate neighborhood for a first meeting held at her home. She recognized the value in having an ongoing neighborhood voice and proposed an identity as the "Northwest Area Residents Association (NARA)". With subsequent meetings and her leadership and organization skills, the neighborhood successfully defeated the high-density housing. This first developed application was a wakeup call and a reality check that we needed to be proactive with potential development. The defeat of the high-density housing became an immediate opportunity to work with the developer for what became the Rancho/Gowan Business Park at that same location, giving the applicant more than what they applied for in exchange for a computable low-profile Bradley Road buffer and a textbook win/win partnership.
All during this process, Linda was the glue that kept the wheels turning with her positive attitude and theme of being "sticks in a bundle" for an unbreakable community. We like to joke that "NARA is all Linda's fault!" Little did we know at the time that with her initial effort, and so many others to follow, that NARA would evolve by necessity into a cornerstone voluntary neighborhood association and advocate for Rural Preservation as an Overlay District Title #19 City of Las Vegas ordinance lifestyle.
Sometimes in life, you just get lucky! In 1994, words like abeyance, conditions, Title #18, variance, and so much more relating to the Planning Commission and City Council process were like a foreign language to most of us. Linda Young and a few others with a real estate business had some experience. But our initial NARA city agenda put us on the front line for the first time. With Councilman Scott Higginson leaving, Matt Callister became our new Ward 6 representative. Matt was an attorney, and he knew Las Vegas and the system well. He believed in our cause, and he made us believe in ourselves. But most importantly, as a councilman, he was right there for us 100% from the very start. Matt was "real". He came to the neighborhood meetings at Linda Young's house. He explained everything at a pedestrian level for success, and made our new neighborhood association feel like a family. Everyone was made to feel like they were valued and had a contribution. At our City Council meeting, she was open, fair, knew the content thoroughly, and represented the neighborhood with constituent advocacy. And, of course, we won, both with defeating the high-density housing agenda and with our follow-up to the next proposal that became our Rancho/ Gowan Business Park. Linda Young was what the neighborhood needed, and Matt Callister was what NARA needed for the city process part of the equation. We got lucky! In hindsight, we were so naive. We thought that in the future this was going to be "easy." All you had to do was be organized, have solid documentation, play by the rules, and with a committed councilperson for constituent and community advocacy, success was certain! It was going to be just like your high school civics class. Little did we know that we were still in kindergarten, and school would become a never-ending process.
Matt Callister, esq.
CLV Councilman
Ward 6
Joe Mitchell
Special Assistant
Ward 5
NARA got lucky. Mr. Joseph Mitchell was our Ward #5 special assistant to Councilman Ricki Barlow. He had developed a personal interest in NARA with its community commitment to identity and advocacy. He became part of the NARA family. Doing the right thing above and beyond a job requirement or the call of duty, just because you know that it needs to be done, and if you don't do it, no one else will, seems to be more and more of an old-school theme. With that, he would come up with content for consideration in regards to master planning and possible amendments to give rural preservation a stronger ordinance standing. June 20, 2017, at a summer-time scheduled NARA meeting, Joe brought along Professor Steve Clarke from UNLV with a proposal. He had been working on this for well over a year as a personal project. The Westside had partnered with UNLV for an interlocal agreement study for an academic and professional consultant assessment of their community for future growth and sustainability. This evolved into the now well-known and promoted HUNDRED Plan. Joe and Steve related how this exact same study format could be applied to NARA as a quintessential grassroots volunteer Rural Preservation Overlay District neighborhood association, and with it establish content and direction for both NARA's future growth and sustainability, and as a platform for other RNPO neighborhood associations and the rural preservation ordinance lifestyle throughout the valley. It was agreed. The study went forward, with the NARA Executive Board, residents as "stakeholders", UNLV Master's Program Architecture students, and study paid consultants. A three-day "Charrette" was held February 10, 11 & 13, with a (fun) "Student Stakeholder Debriefing" on May 2, 2018. Joe was the program point person. The significance of Mr. Mitchell's effort to bring this UNLV/NARA study to volition and program completion cannot be overstated. It gave NARA ideas for future development and sustainability of its RNPO community with considerations of pending Form-Based Coding, and reinforced the value of rural preservation as an ordinance-based City of Las Vegas lifestyle throughout the valley. With future political representation advocacy, NARA has expectations of bringing Mr. Mitchell's special perspective, insight, and UNLV/NARA study legacy decision to fulfillment. Thank you, Joe!
As our District 7 Assembly representative, Dina takes a personal initiative to show up at NARA meetings, to clear the air, and make sense of the "fine print" so we can be educated and informed for when it comes time to make a ballot box decision. NARA residents need to know what is happening in Carson City when legislation could impact their personal life as well as their neighborhoods. Understanding the source, content, and direction of legislative topics through the various media can be a challenge. With hundreds of topics on the table, there's a lot going on, and Dina gives us a heads-up on topics that the media doesn't cover and that she wants us to be aware of. In 20__ NARA was in the process of addressing and correcting the illegal 2011 UDC Title #19 "Convalescent Care Facility/Nursing Home" definition revision. The obvious solution was to give nursing homes their legal and professional "inpatient status" identity within the Title #19 definition. Inpatient status was also omitted in the NRS. Dina agreed to sponsor a NARA to make this simple legal addition part of the NRS nursing home identity, and with that, apply it towards Title #19 change. This was a first for NARA! Dina extended true professionalism, taking us "by the hand" to make this happen with repeated contacts and clarifications. The attorneys at Carson City denied taking the request forward based on totally irrelevant. Dina tried her best to turn things around, but it was clearly not going to happen.
This Carson City "failure" turned out to be a total success. The denial was totally illogical, and there had to be a reason for it. A comprehensive investigation of 2010-2011 City Council documentation turned up the source event for the unprofessionally written UDC nursing home definition. It was only because Dina extended herself to NARA beyond the call of duty to bring this forward with the legislature that the "failure" turned out to be an ironic, seminal success with a fundamental understanding of the 2011 UDC revision source for correction. Thank you, Dina!
Dina Neal, esq.
Assemblywoman
District 7
Chuck Bennion, esq.
NARA Former President
Community service just seemed to be part of Chuck's DNA. And as an attorney, there's that special asset that helps to navigate the fine print in every effort. NARA had no public parks in our general area, and the vacant CCHD ___ acre parcel across the street from Parson Elementary School seemed like a logical place to have one. Chuck led the team to make this happen, and NARA's Patriot Park had its ribbon-cutting. The garden and Westcare.
March 30, 2025, NARA will have its 30th anniversary. Over these past three decades, Marilyn has been part of the NARA family one way or another. She is perhaps the strongest advocate for Rural Preservation in the valley, as both a County and City of Las Vegas Overlay District ordinance-based lifestyle worth fighting for, and with that, she has been a friend of NARA.
Marilyn K. Kirkpatrick
Clark Co. Commissioner
District B
Connect with Community
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ARTICLES
Explore articles that highlight the work, history, and impact of the Northwest Area Residents Association. From community updates and neighborhood initiatives to stories that showcase our mission and milestones, this section keeps you connected with everything happening in and around NARA.
August 12, 2017
NARA Street and Traffic History
The following is a chronological documentation and history, including Las Vegas City Traffic Engineering interventions, of both active and problematic street thoroughfares and intersections within the Northwest Area Residents Association...
August 12, 2017
NARA How It All Began
"It's all Linda Young's fault!" That's what you often hear from NARA members both in jest and in fact who were present at the time of NARA'S beginnings. Many of...
August 12, 2017
NARA Street and Traffic History
The following is a chronological documentation and history, including Las Vegas City Traffic Engineering interventions, of both active and problematic street thoroughfares and intersections within the Northwest Area Residents Association...
Location: NARA, 5209 W. Gilmore Ave., Las Vegas, Nevada 89130
Call 7029999999
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Site: www.narainc.org