Brief Digest: Week of June 17, 2024
Updates, meeting previews, and the latest news in Reno urban development
Quick schedule change for the summer: I’ll be publishing each new edition of The Barber Brief on Mondays rather than over the weekends, as I have been doing. This will give me a chance to fully preview the upcoming week’s public meetings while also allowing all of us a little more freedom to enjoy our beautiful Reno summer weekends.
I held this edition just a bit longer in order to incorporate the expected Primary Elections update for Monday, June 17, but as of this morning (6/18) there hasn’t been a new update since June 15, so I’ll forgo the election report and analysis until after the Reno City Council holds their Special Meeting on Friday, June 21 to certify the local results. That agenda is here, and according to the Staff Report, the official results will be available from the Washoe County Registrar of Voters after 5:00 p.m. on June 19.
Updates from the June 12 Reno City Council meeting
There was substantial local media coverage of some of the items on the June 12 City Council meeting agenda. Here’s a wrap-up of some of them.
On Item D.2 – Contingency funds for horse fencing in South Reno
“Emergency horse fencing approved for $315,000” (Kelsey Penrose, This is Reno, 6/13/24)
As Kelsey Penrose reports, “Reno City Council on Wednesday approved allocating $315,000 toward wild horse fencing in south Reno. Dozens of community members provided comment in person, virtually and by email in support of using contingency funds to erect a fence to keep wild horses and drivers safe from each other. “
On Item D.3 - Updates on Downtown Reno for May 2024
“City: Downtown Reno’s population expected to double,” (Kelsey Penrose, This is Reno, 6/15/24)
This Council agenda item included updates from an array of City staff members working in some respect on the downtown core, as well as an update from Downtown Reno Partnership (DRP) Executive Director and former City councilmember Neoma Jardon. She mentioned a report called “The State of Downtown,” which the Staff Report indicated would be included with the meeting materials, but it was not. You can, however, access it on the DRP’s website here, and I’ll include it below.
This was an illuminating item, which you can watch on YouTube below.
Something that emerged for me from this update (which Council will receive monthly) is the sheer amount of City resources and energies currently being directed toward the downtown core. There’s also a big effort underway on the part of the DRP and the City’s Revitalization Manager Bryan McArdle to try to attract more retail investment downtown, including a long-coveted grocery store, which he said depends entirely on increasing the area’s residential population.
In her piece for This is Reno, Kelsey Penrose reports on McArdle’s assessment of how many residential units are currently in the works for downtown, with 929 expected to be added this year alone. It will be interesting to see how quickly they fill up and how quickly any more follow, considering what we’ve recently learned about the current so-called “glut” in new apartment projects and the high costs of building more.
I mentioned last time my concern about the reference in McArdle’s report to something called the “Relaunch Redevelopment Agency,” and that’s something Councilmember Brekhus asked about, too, although we received no illumination in this meeting of exactly what that means. From This is Reno:
“[Councilmember Brekhus] also said she was concerned about the mention of relaunching the city’s Redevelopment Agency, which she said never went away. She said, however, she wants to ensure transparency in the process. ‘I think the outline of that needs to be, “Council, how do you want to go about relaunching and talking about the Redevelopment Agency,” not “Here’s the plan we created, approve it and adopt it,” she said. ‘We need as we reactivate it to include the public. There are a lot of people paying into it. It cannot be, “Here’s what we worked on up on the 15th floor with these people and these stakeholders.” It needs to be a very public and transparent process.’”
I couldn’t agree more with those comments and hope we’ll be seeing more discussion (not just decisions) regarding this issue very soon, as well as my long-advocated reinstatement of the Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board (RAAB), the public body that advised the Reno Reno City Council in their role as the Redevelopment Agency Board. That body received regular updates from City staff about Redevelopment Area projects and revenues, along with an array of other issues regarding RDA areas 1 and 2 and provided recommendations to Council (sitting as the Redevelopment Agency Board) about how to spend those revenues and move redevelopment plans forward.
The RAAB is the formalized public voice in the redevelopment of downtown Reno, and it has been absent for years, leaving a real void of knowledge and representation on the part of local citizens about key decisions the City makes for the downtown core.
On Item D.4 - The search for a new Reno City Manager
“Jackie Bryant appointed interim city manager after Reno City Council arguments, allegations” (Kelsey Penrose, This is Reno, 6/13/24)
Excerpt: “Assistant City Manager Jackie Bryant on Wednesday was appointed as interim city manager by Reno City Council members following the resignation of City Manager Doug Thornley. She will serve as interim until a new city manager is hired.”
On Item E.1 - The City’s Proposed Housing Initiatives Ordinance
“’Watered-down' housing amendment passes through Reno City Council first reading” (Joedyn Young and Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette-Journal, 6/14/24)
This article covers the first reading of the housing ordinance, with some accompanying criticism by GreenStreet Development principal Dane Hillyard about what components of the proposed initiatives did not move forward.
I do have one quick correction to the article (which I forwarded to Jason Hidalgo). The article mentions the “complete eradication of a proposal to allow duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes — also known as “missing middle” housing — in single-family zoned neighborhoods,” but it should clarify that Council decided not to allow those types of development “in all single-family zoned neighborhoods.” They’re already allowed in two single-family zoning districts (SF-8 and SF-11) with a conditional use permit—so Council just decided not to expand that right to the two remaining single family zoning districts (SF-3 and SF-5).
The City’s RFP for its Record Street properties
Last week also brought a substantial new article about the Request for Proposals that the City of Reno recently issued for the former Community Assistance Center properties on Record Street:
“City staff now say Community Assistance Center needs $10 million to rehab” (Kristin Hackbarth, This is Reno, 6/9/24)
In this piece, published just after I wrote about the RFP in my June 9 Brief, Kristin Hackbarth delves into the proposal and its background, providing a timeline of the City’s actions related to these properties from the time they decided to vacate them, the escalating estimated costs to rehabilitate the two structures, and more.
As a reminder, the deadline for proposals in response to this RFP is July 19, 2024 and you can view the RFP and all its attachments on the City’s website here and the current status of the bidding process (and who has registered as a potential bidder) on the PlanetBids website here. I’m still hoping to get some clarification on how proposals will be evaluated, but I guess we’ll have to rely on prospective bidders to submit questions to the City of Reno about that or anything else before July 5.
Preview: June 20 Reno Planning Commission meeting
The agenda for the June 20 Planning Commission meeting can be found here. Four public hearings were scheduled, but the first (item 5.1) has been postponed.
5.1 - The Canyons PUD Amendment (POSTPONED). As explained in the Staff Report, the request was to increase the number of units from 81 to 126, make changes to various environmental standards and more, but “the applicant has exercised the right to postpone the hearing for this item until a later date…”
5.2 – Chism Mobile Home Park Master Plan and Zoning Map Amendments. I previewed this one in my June 1, 2024 Brief. New Staff Report here.
5.3 – Airstream Condition Amendment. This pertains to amending prior conditions of approval for a new RV dealership just east of Kietzke Lane and north of Linden to allow an alternative site and building design and eliminate the requirement for a sound study. Staff Report here.
5.4 – Riverpoint at Idlewild. I previewed this one in my April 28, 2024 edition of the Brief. Updated Staff Report here.
Upcoming Land Development Projects
I haven’t mentioned the City’s Development Projects e-newsletter in a while. It provides advance notice of projects that have submitted applications to be reviewed by the Planning Commission, City Council, or in some cases another city body, and you can sign up for it (and many others) on the City’s newsletter page.
You can view the June 14 edition here and view it and all past newsletters on the City’s Land Development Projects page, along with an interactive map and a table providing information about them and links to their full applications. You can also send in comments via the link provide on the page and in each newsletter.
The latest edition features multiple items including the City’s own application to commence work at the Lear Theater including new fencing, hand rails, concrete work, landscaping, and more. Downtown Makeover has a post about that item here including copies of some of the plans, which are scheduled for review by the City’s Historical Resources Commission on July 11. Still in process is a Historic Structures report that the City commissioned earlier this year, which will hopefully provide insight to help the City initiate community discussions of what it might become and how much work (and money) that might require.
Also included in the newsletter is a request to grant a two-year extension to the deadline to record a final map for the Talus Valley (formerly known as Daybreak) Planning Area 23. There’s much more, too, so be sure to click here to view the entire edition, and keep in mind that all the meeting dates listed in these newsletters are tentative and subject to change.
Preview: June 20 Ward 4 NAB Meeting
In addition to those projects, the Ward 4 Neighborhood Advisory Board (NAB) is scheduled to discuss a couple others at their upcoming meeting on Thursday, June 20. You can access that agenda on the Current and Upcoming Meetings web page.
Development projects to be discussed at that time include the following
Item C.1 – Silver Dollar Elementary School: a minor conditional use permit to allow for the development of a new primary school campus at the intersection of Silver Dollar Lane and Cloudburst Drive. This is featured in the May 17 Development Projects newsletter.
Item C.2 – Habit for Humanity: a request for a tentative map to establish a 22-lot single-family detached subdivision on the north side of Echo Avenue between Mount Vida Street and Mount Charleston Street. This one is featured in the May 31 Development Projects newsletter.
News Round-Up: The Latest in Local Development
I’ll wrap up this edition of the Brief with some of the latest media coverage of development-related items around town. They span a wide range of topics.
Median home prices in Reno
“Reno median home price misses record-high by just $3,000 as summer season nears” (Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette-Journal, 6/14/24)
As Jason Hidalgo reports, “The median home price for an existing home in Reno in May just fell short of the all-time high set in June 2022.”
New retail complex planned for Damonte Ranch
“Double R Market Place: 130,000 square feet of retail underway in Damonte Ranch” (Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette-Journal, 6/10/24)
Jason Hidalgo reports that “Double R Market Place will encompass three of the four corners on Damonte Ranch Parkway and Double R Boulevard once it’s fully built out….about 130,000 square feet of retail space once completed.”
Reno commercial tenant news
Some recent updates on movements by commercial tenants include the following.
“Natural Grocers moving into former Bed Bath & Beyond location in Reno” (Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette-Journal, 6/12/24)
“New tenant coming to RPM [Reno Public Market], plus Mynt becoming Dispensary downtown” (Mike Van Houten, Downtown Makeover, 6/13/24)
Urban heat islands
“Explained: What is a ‘Heat Island?’” (Richard Bednarski, Sierra Nevada Ally, 6/10/24)
Richard Bednarski has a terrific explainer (with video!) on heat islands, addressing the impact of rising temperatures on urban environments compared to outlying areas (think asphalt, concrete, metal, and cars), why it matters, and what we can do about it. This is especially pertinent to Reno, which was recently named the fastest-warming city in the country. Be sure to click on the link above to read the full article.
Will Caesars Entertainment’s casinos go non-smoking? Not anytime soon.
“Shareholders of another Strip casino company reject smoke-free plan” (McKenna Ross, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 6/14/24)
As McKenna Ross reports, shareholders of Reno-based Caesars Entertainment (owners of 52 U.S. properties including The ROW) recently “rejected a proposal to study the economic effects of smoke-free casinos, the last of three recent efforts to pursue the policy through publicly traded companies.”
The latest on the Washoe County Lands Bill
“U.S. Senate committee hearing considers Clark, Washoe land bills” (Jeniffer Solis, Nevada Current, 6/17/24)
Here, Jeniffer Solis reports on the status of the federal Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act, which received its first hearing last Wednesday. As Solis explains, the Act “would allow 16,000 acres of public lands in Washoe County to be sold to local governments for development and conservation projects.”
Low-income housing near the Cares Campus
“Permit filed by Washoe County for new low income housing project at or near the Cares Campus” (Mike Van Houten, Downtown Makeover, 6/16/24)
Mike Van Houten is always keeping an eye on the latest permit applications to be filed with the City of Reno, and here he reports on a new application related to low-income housing in close proximity to the Cares Campus.
That’s it for this week. Happy Juneteenth on Wednesday, June 19, when most City of Reno and Washoe County offices will be closed for the federal holiday.
Be sure to check out my Citizen Guide for helpful resources and links for anyone hoping to become more informed and engaged in issues related to urban development (& more) in Reno.
As always, you can view this and prior newsletters on my Substack site, subscribe to receive each new edition in your email inbox, and follow the Brief (and contribute to the ongoing conversation) on X, Facebook & Instagram. If you feel inspired to support my writing and research with a financial contribution, you can sign up for a paid subscription through my Substack site or contribute to my Venmo account at @Dr-Alicia-Barber or via check to Alicia Barber at P.O. Box 11955, Reno, NV 89510. Thanks so much for reading, and have a great week.