March 8, 2021 The Week Ahead
Public meetings, updates, and your Brief Tip of the week
Welcome new subscribers! I truly believe that the more we can engage in respectful, inclusive, and productive discussions about the future shape of our community, the stronger and more appealing that community will be. This week is a bit of a grab bag of public meetings and updates, so let’s dive right in.
The 34-unit apartment building at 700 Riverside Drive
Last week’s post about the four-story, 34-unit apartment building slated for construction on Riverside Drive, in the middle of the historic Powning District, has generated a great deal of interest and concern. I’ve continued to update the online version of that post as I look further into the situation, so I encourage you to click back and read the new info.
Among those updates is my realization that this project was not in fact approved in 2006 and then set aside for 15 years. The plan back then was actually very different, as were the reasons for asking the City of Reno to abandon the adjacent block of Washington Street. Back in 2006, that street abandonment was solely to let the developers of the project (which was then a condo called Ponte Vecchio) to use the street for private surface parking. Today, the current developers plan to use that block of Washington Street to significantly increase the square footage of their building, obliterating the street entirely.
Completely changing the plan for the street after the City has already transferred it to them is clearly in violation of City Council’s intent for giving it to them in the first place. It’s also a terrible betrayal of the public trust and the wishes of the surrounding neighborhood.
I very much hope that the current property owners will decide to respect the original intent for the street abandonment—and the public process that it entailed—as well as the City’s more recently adopted (also publicly-vetted) City Code directing new construction in this historic, residential neighborhood to max out at 2-1/2 stories tall. The building permit for that project still hasn’t been issued, so if you want to contact the developers, Urban Lion, to urge them to act in good faith, their contact info is on their website, here.
A sneak peek at upcoming development projects
Some developments, if zoned correctly, can get the go-ahead from the City of Reno by simply applying for a building permit, which City staff administers with no public involvement. Others require what is called discretionary review, meaning they are subject to a public hearing of some sort.
I’ve previously mentioned that the City recently revised its Development Review Memos (DRMs), which sum up the latest discretionary review applications and provide a tentative schedule for those hearings. It’s now easier than ever to have the DRMs emailed directly to your inbox every other week and to submit comments in advance of those hearings.
You can view the latest DRM here and provide any preliminary comments by March 10th on projects at Mayberry Gardens (the historic Caughlin Ranch House property), Daybreak (recently rebranded as Talus Valley), Rancharrah, a new Delta Gamma sorority house on N. Sierra & West 9th Streets, and others. The public will have the opportunity to comment on all of these in the future, too, so don’t worry if you’re not able to submit comments by the 10th.
Reno City Council meeting on Wednesday, March 10
On the agenda for Wednesday’s (virtual) Reno City Council meeting are a few matters related to development, some on the outskirts of town, some more central.
Item C.1. Council will consider approval of The Canyons, a 71-unit residential subdivision being proposed for an approximately 80-acre site in the foothills above Damonte Ranch. The project was recommended for approval by the Reno Planning Commission and has received some press coverage including this KTVN story. You can view the full staff report and supporting materials here.
Item C.2. Review and possible acceptance of the operating plan and budget for the Downtown Reno Partnership. More on that here.
Item D.1. Did you know that a subsidiary of The ROW manages and operates the City’s Reno Ballroom at East 4th Street and N. Virginia, across from the Events Center? I did not. Anyway, that agreement is being revised and reviewed for acceptance, with a staff report here.
Item G. 5. City Council will appoint a new Planning Commissioner (read more about the Planning Commission here) to represent Ward 5 (City Councilmember Neoma Jardon’s ward). The candidates’ applications are available in the staff report here. Of note: applicants include Ed Hawkins, who until recently served on the Planning Commission representing Ward 4, and J.D. Drakulich, who lost to Jenny Brekhus in last year’s Ward 1 City Council race.
Item I. 1. The Council will consider approval of the Stan Lucas’ Mortensen Ranch development, which would include 676 homes on about 955 acres west of Somersett, following an appeal of Council’s original denial. You can read more about that from a July 2020 This is Reno article here and view all relevant materials here.
There is still no opportunity for live public comment at these virtual City Council meetings, but you can consult the top of the agenda here for directions on how to submit comments through the online form, by emailing the City Clerk, or by recording a 1-3 minute voice mail that they may play during the meeting. The staff reports and relevant materials can be found here.
Historical Resources Commission on Thursday, March 11
You should really get to know the City’s Historical Resources Commission (HRC), and I’m not just saying that because I served on it for nine years (okay, that might be part of it). The HRC is the City’s advisory board on Historic Preservation and is one of the few volunteer City boards or commissions for which several seats require specific professional expertise.
On Thursday, the HRC (meeting virtually) will be discussing several items of interest including an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness for new construction at the above-mentioned Mayberry Gardens project at the historic Caughlin Ranch House; the drafting of a new naming and renaming policy for City of Reno facilities, buildings, and streets; and discussion of the status of the Regina Apartments at 260 Island Avenue, which appears to be in the path of CAI’s Kimpton Hotel (see my previous post about that). The full agenda and supporting materials can be found here, where you can find information on how to register to watch the meeting via Zoom and submit public comments in advance.
Flood Management Authority on Friday, March 12
The Truckee River Flood Management Authority (TRFMA) has a lot on its plate, including the planning, design, and construction of flood impact reduction projects for the entire length of the Truckee River. That, of course, includes the portion that runs through the City of Reno, where the risk of flooding impacts many properties in close proximity to the riverbanks.
This Friday’s monthly virtual meeting of the TRFMA Board (view the agenda here) will include overviews of some major issues, including a presentation on the economic benefits and costs of proposed flood control features in the Reno and Sparks areas. Consult the agenda for info on how to register to view the meeting and provide public comment.
Item 5 will be of particular interest to many Reno residents: a presentation and discussion of proposed Flood Project improvements from the Booth Street Bridge (at the west end of Riverside Drive) downstream to Wingfield Park. I watched this presentation, from Executive Director George Robison, at the February 26th meeting of the TRFMA’s Technical Advisory Committee, where he explained that the plan for that stretch of the river has changed significantly.
Under the previous plan, high floodwalls would have been installed all along Riverside Drive, which would have been reduced to one-way traffic in order to construct a large earthen berm to cover the floodwall. That previous plan also would have required removing 40 mature trees along Riverside Drive, which would have been incredibly tragic.
Fortunately, the new plan is much less heavy-handed, featuring modest floodwalls but no berm, no lane reduction, and no tree removal, thereby ensuring the preservation of Riverside Drive’s scenic beauty. You may recall that the hypothetical berm played a major role in the Lear Theater renovation plan proposed by Ken Krater, who suggested that the berm could be incorporated into amphitheater seating to face the theater’s front porch, which could then then be used as a stage.
One component of the Flood Project plans that hasn’t changed is the contemplated replacement of the existing vehicular bridge at Booth Street with a pedestrian/bicycle-only bridge. They’re still modeling various options for that bridge, and nothing has been finalized, pending much more study by the TRFMA and the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County (RTC Washoe) which will have to carefully examine its potential impact on traffic circulation. The public will have plenty of opportunities to participate in all of those discussions, and any work along Riverside Drive is not likely to begin before 2026.
The Arlington Avenue bridge replacement wants you!
Speaking of bridges and RTC Washoe, I’ve previously mentioned that plans are underway to replace the two bridges that cross the Truckee River on Arlington Avenue. The Feasibility Study for that project has moved into a new phase, with the narrowing of options for those bridge designs and an appeal to local residents to provide input on the current recommendation.
You can visit the project’s website here where you’ll find a fantastic 27-minute video with an overview of the project’s goals, the steps that have been completed so far, descriptions of all the design options that were considered (along with their pros and cons), and how the project’s staff and advisory committees narrowed them down.
If you’d like to provide input, definitely watch the video in its entirety first for descriptions of all the improvements planned for these two bridges, from wider sidewalks and landscaping to decorative railings and lighting. The video also thoroughly explains the reasons for recommending a Single Pier design, which looks much like the current bridges but with less intrusion into the river and a lot more pedestrian enhancements.
You can participate in the survey through the month of March, after which the RTC will compile all the community feedback, finalize the feasibility study, and move into the environmental assessment (NEPA) phase.
BRIEF TIP: Get to know Accela
If you find yourself hungering for even more information on developments in Reno and beyond, the region’s Accela website is the place for you. It’s the comprehensive source for regional licensing and permits for Reno, Sparks, and Washoe and Douglas Counties, where you can review applications for building permits and planning reviews, view business licenses, review code complaints, see public works and engineering applications, get information about property ownership, and more. Just visit the main site here, select the categories and fields you want to search (Building and Planning are my personal favorites), enter all the relevant info, and boom! You’ll be in possession of more information than you’ll know what to do with. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
As always, you can view my previous e-newsletters, with more context, analysis, and tips, on my Substack site, https://thebarberbrief.substack.com/ and subscribe here. Have a great week!