Let's make 2025 the Year of the People

Plus, the request for the City to abandon Stevenson Street returns on January 8.

[1/8/25 UPDATE: The request for the City of Reno to abandon Stevenson Street has been continued (without discussion) to the February 12, 2025 City Council meeting.]

Happy New Year to all! I hope everyone had a chance to rest and relax a bit over the holidays. If you were still checked out on December 30 when I published my last Brief, The Jacobs Entertainment festival grounds permit application, Reno's former City Manager reappears & more, be sure to check it out for some important updates & info.

This week marks the fourth anniversary of The Barber Brief, and to mark the occasion, I just re-read my very first post from January 2021, in which I explained why I decided to start publishing this hyperlocal e-newsletter about Reno’s urban development and how I hoped it would benefit the City and its residents. Since many of you haven’t been here from the very beginning, I’d like to invite you to read through it, too.

As I wrote back then, this was (and continues to be) a pivotal time for determining what comes next for Reno, in its downtown core and beyond. And it’s more critical than ever for residents to be fully engaged in those decisions, which will have far-reaching implications for everyone who lives and visits here, for generations to come.

So what does making 2025 “The Year of the People” mean to me? It means that this is no time to stand on the sidelines; civic engagement requires that we not just care, but act—and not just in our own interests, but for the greater public good.

Four years ago, I wrote, “It’s the job of our elected representatives to protect and promote the public interest, but they can’t do it alone. That’s where we come in, working together as informed citizens to understand and engage in their decisions and deliberations, to help them to see all sides, and to ensure that public sentiment is being solicited, acknowledged, and considered.” Today, that’s more true than ever.

Looking back at that first post, I’m struck by how many projects we’re still talking about four years later, including Jacobs Entertainment’s ongoing acquisitions and actions; the status of the Kimpton Hotel and Reno City Center; renovation of the Lear Theater; and of course, new and proposed residential developments both inside the McCarran loop and on Reno’s outskirts. Some of those plans are ongoing; some are in limbo; some may be dead. But they all remind us of how quickly plans that are announced with the utmost confidence can change, stall, or even vaporize entirely.

It’s a reminder of how important it is not to become too enamored of vague promises and grandiose renderings, not to give away too much without a guaranteed return that benefits the public good. It’s also a reminder that we should always feel empowered to ask the tough questions, to speak up when we see actions and decisions that we don’t believe are right, and always to expect—and if necessary, demand—the opportunity to participate in the processes and policies that shape the environment around us.

This is our city, and it’s our responsibility to speak up for it, and for ourselves. So let this be the year that you write those emails, submit those public comments, attend some meetings if you can, and let’s truly make 2025 the Year of the People.

Are you ready? Let’s start with this week’s City meetings.

---

City of Reno meetings for the week of January 6, 2025

You can view agendas and supporting materials for all of this week’s City of Reno meetings here. Among them are the following (click on the link for the full list):

• Ward 3 Neighborhood Advisory Board – Tues., January 7 at 5:30pm

• Reno City Council – Wed., January 8 at 10am

• Financial Advisory Board – Thurs., January 9 at 3:30pm

• Historical Resources Commission – Thurs., January 9 at 4pm

---

Preview of the January 8, 2025 Reno City Council meeting

You can read Wednesday’s full Reno City Council meeting agenda here. There are numerous items with direct connections to development, so be sure to skim through the entire agenda, as something else might also catch your eye. I’ll just highlight a few.

C.1 - Case No. ABN24-00003 (Stevenson Street Abandonment)

This is the returning request for the City to abandon the right-of-way totaling ±32,000 square feet of Stevenson Street located between West First and West Second Streets, an item continued from October. You can find the Staff Report here and consult the agenda for all of the exhibits, the staff presentation, public comments, and more.

Here’s a short 360-degree video I shot of Stevenson Street back in October, starting with the empty lot on the west side of the street and continuing to the south, east, and then north across Stevenson Street and West Second Street.

Nothing about this proposal appears to have changed since we last saw it in October (I previewed the proposal on September 9, 2024, but the item was delayed due to the Davis Fire). Here’s part of what I wrote on October 29, after Council discussed it:

The idea of increasing the parking capacity of Stevenson Street seemed universally supported, but there was considerable resistance from multiple councilmembers (primarily the Mayor, Naomi Duerr, and Jenny Brekhus) to the idea of abandoning the street (called a “city asset”) in order to create it (Kathleen Taylor, however, had no problem with it, didn’t see “where the controversy is” and thought everyone who objected was just “going down a rabbit hole”).

The extensive discussion included consideration of whether the City can just add more parking to the street itself, possibly by using redevelopment funds. Councilmember Brekhus and attorney Jonathan Shipman confirmed that funds can even be lent to RDA1 from RDA2. So it looks like that might be one of the options that staff will be exploring over the next few months, along with potentially writing up some kind of Development Agreement or even a land lease.

So how did the staff’s exploration of a Development Agreement or land lease go? As the new Staff Report indicates, neither of those options are being recommended by City Staff this week. Why not? Here’s the staff explanation:

So that’s it? The applicant “did not want to move forward with a development or lease agreement” that would ostensibly make them commit to a specific development and timeline to develop the adjacent property, so staff is recommending that they just drop those ideas? What about saying “We need to know what you’re building, if anything, before we give you half a street”?

As you can see from the above video, the City has hardly capitalized on its ability to maximize public parking on Stevenson Street as it is, making any tally of the number of spaces to be gained via abandonment rather misleading. Even without using the additional land being offered by the property owner on the street’s west side, the City could greatly increase the number of spaces offered there now without introducing a new parking space reservation app, designating any spots for private use, or handing over more of the public right-of-way to private interests.

The public comments already received by EOB on Monday can be found here. They include several thoughtful letters, including one from Father Chuck Durante of the neighboring St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral, who has been engaged in every discussion of Stevenson Street at City Council, speaking eloquently at each meeting where it appears on the agenda. He now writes that he cannot attend Wednesday’s meeting due to a professional commitment out of state, so I encourage all of you to read his words and consider whether you would like to submit your own comments.

Writing on behalf of the parish and as a private citizen, he writes of his opposition to the abandonment of Stevenson Street. “While I fully support a reconfiguration that would allow more parking,” he writes, “I respectfully disagree with the staff conclusion that this only can be accomplished by privatization and the permanent abandonment of the street….”

As he continues:

“It is the responsibility of the city to modify the street for the good of all without giving up more property to private business….While staff’s proposal allows some parking places to ‘remain public,’ more than double an additional number of spaces will be administered differently by the property owners and it appears that the tenants of the extant apartments and those to be built in the future will be able to get priority….Even as the street stands now, there is room for 30 parallel parking spaces. The proposal for abandonment would provide 22 spaces for ‘public use,’ 8 spaces less than if nothing were done. If the city would reconfigure the spaces perpendicular to the sidewalk, we would easily double what is there now….”

Father Durante concludes, “I believe that these grounds for opposition show that abandoning Stevenson Street would materially injure the interests of the city and its current citizens” and encourages the City to explore “what the cost would actually be to make adjustments to allow more parking available to everyone—including those newly built apartments that come late to the neighborhood—without limiting access to surrounding entities or the many visitors who come to the river.”

What are your thoughts on the proposed abandonment of Stevenson Street? Be sure to let City Council know, referencing Item C.1 on the January 8 agenda.

---

F. 1 - Ordinance Adoption: Bill No. 7283 (For Possible Action): Case No. TXT23-00005 (Title 18 Zoning Code Clean-Up)

Item F.1 is the second reading of the ordinance to adopt a whole slew of updates and “clean-ups” to the Zoning Code. Council approved the first reading on December 11.

To comment on these or any other items on the January 8 Reno City Council agenda, you can attend in person beginning at 10am or virtually by registering here. Comments can be delivered in person, by submitting an online public comment form at Reno.Gov/PublicComment; (2) emailing Publiccomment@reno.gov; (3) leaving a voicemail at 775-393-4499; or 4) participating in the meeting via Zoom.

As indicated on the agenda, comments must be received by 4pm on Tuesday to be provided to Council in advance of the 10am Wednesday meeting.

---

Sierra Club files appeal of the Webb Data Center approval

As I reported last week, former Reno City Manager (through June 2024) Doug Thornley popped up last month as the applicants’ attorney for the Webb Data Center, which was approved by the Reno Planning Commission in a 4-2 vote on December 18.

Today, the news broke that the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter has filed an appeal challenging the approval of the Webb Data Center, as reported by several outlets:

• Sierra Club appeals Reno Planning Commission data center approval (Bob Conrad, This is Reno, 1/6/25).

• Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter appeals approval of Reno data center (Kevin Sheridan, KOLO, 1/6/25)

As This is Reno reports, “The Sierra Club’s Olivia Tanager said the planning commission’s approval was problematic for several reasons. One concern is that the city, through an ‘administrative interpretation,’ allowed data centers to be developed, but there was no opportunity for public input, she said. That interpretation was made early in 2024, according to city staff.”

From the press release from the Sierra Club:

“We are demanding that Reno public officials adhere to the highest standard of ethical behavior and public transparency,” said Olivia Tanager, Director of Sierra Club’s Toiyabe Chapter. “The approval of the Webb data center was mired in controversy, violations of open meeting law, and strategic withholding of information. We are asking for the city to cease approval of all data centers and associated permits until there is clear guidance in Reno code regulating data centers. These facilities are extraordinarily demanding on our energy and water resources, and Reno residents will be adversely impacted if these centers aren’t rolled out with the highest level of caution and scrutiny.”

As I wrote last week, the latest Development Projects newsletter from the City indicated that two more data centers are scheduled for review by the Planning Commission next Wednesday, which certainly seems problematic, considering these latest developments. We’ll find out later this week if they’re still on that agenda.

---

Brief Digest: The Latest News in Local Urban Development

Here are some of the latest published articles related to local development:

• Washoe County expands flood zone in Swan Lake area, nearly 200 structures now in floodplain (This is Reno, 1/1/25)

• Jacobs Entertainment’s proposed downtown ‘festival grounds’ facing opposition over noise (Bob Conrad, This is Reno, 1/1/25)

• Anti-homeless camping bans marked by procedural pitfalls and counterproductive criminalizing (Michael Lyle, Nevada Current, 1/2/25)

• Bay Area tech firm Lyten secures additional funding for Reno ‘gigafactory’ (Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette-Journal, 1/3/25)

• Preservation group lists Nevada's most endangered historic sites: What to know (Jeffrey Meehan, Reno Gazette-Journal, 1/3/25)

• Sparks machine shop, piece of the city's rail era history, to be demolished in early 2025 (Jeffrey Meehan, Reno Gazette-Journal, 1/3/25)

• Downtown Reno Casino Workers Complain of Wages not Keeping Up with City's Costs (Our Town Reno, 1/6/25)

• New Jacobs Tenants Will Sign Document Saying They will be Next to Festival Grounds (Our Town Reno, 1/6/25)

• RSCVA considers booking, promoting shows at downtown events center (Bob Conrad, This is Reno, 1/6/25)

• Reno's Redevelopment Agency revives efforts for downtown growth after 15-year hiatus (Kim Burrows, News4Reno, 1/6/25)

And don’t miss the first video update of the year from Mike Van Houten of Downtown Makeover, featuring the Ballpark Apartments, Reno City Center, and much more:

---

Please test your house for radon.

Lastly, it’s Radon Action Awareness Month, and if you haven’t yet done so, I want to strongly encourage you to test your house for radon gas, the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United States.

Radon test kits are being offered for free by the UNR Extension office through the end of February (while supplies last), so you have no excuse not to. Learn more from This is Reno here and visit the UNR extension website for more information. Test kits in Reno may be picked up at the Washoe County Extension office at 4955 Energy Way.

That’s it for today. Have a great week, everyone.

---

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.

---

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 contribute, you may purchase a paid subscription through Substack or contribute via Venmo at @Dr-Alicia-Barber or via check to Alicia Barber at P.O. Box 11955, Reno, NV 89510.