Previews/Updates: Week of April 14, 2025
The latest Reno development news including what happened at City Council on April 9
Read on for info about this week’s regularly scheduled City of Reno meetings, updates from last week, and the latest news. Be sure to click on the agendas of the meetings that interest you for details on the projects and other items to be discussed there.
City of Reno Meetings: Week of April 14, 2025
Below are the regularly scheduled City meetings this week. Links to agendas and supporting materials are on the City’s Current and Upcoming Meetings webpage.
Mon., April 14, 11am - Public Art Committee (Agenda) (Register to view/participate online) Items include a request for funding; recommendations of artists for various projects; and discussion of the FY26 work plan for Public Art.
Tues., April 15, 5:30pm - Ward 2 NAB (Agenda) (Register) Items include a request for a minor Conditional Use Permit to build a Jiffy Lube at the SW corner of Hunter Lake & Mayberry Drives; a fence deviation; and annual Police Dept update.
Tues., April 15, 6:00pm - Recreation and Parks Commission (Agenda) (Register) The Recreation & Parks Commission Handbook is up for adoption.
Wed., April 16, 5:30pm - Urban Forestry Commission (Agenda) (Register) Items include a presentation on Climate Change and Landscape Conversions and possible approval of proposed Landmark Trees.
Wed., April 16, 6:00pm - Reno Planning Commission (HTML Agenda) (Register) Items include a parking variance on Humboldt Street; the Silver Lake to Moya Gas Capacity Project; Martinez Landscaping Storage Yard; Apartments at Dandini Offsite Improvements; and Milnes Family Zoning Map Amendment.
Thurs., April 17, 6:00pm - Ward 4 NAB (Agenda) (Register) Items include the annual Police Dept update and a Zoning Map amendment for 7720 Security Circle.
Outcomes from the April 9th Reno City Council meeting
You can find the City of Reno’s official highlights from the April 9th City Council meeting here. The top two development-related items were the two appeals of Conditional Use Permits. So let’s look quickly at what happened to those.
The J Resort Festival Grounds gets its CUP approved, can proceed
With Council’s affirmation of the Planning Commission’s approval, Jacobs Entertainment can now operate live entertainment at their new Festival Grounds by right until 10pm; on Fridays and Saturdays until 11pm; and until 12:15am for two events per year. Here’s some media coverage of the discussion, outcome, and site:
Reno City Council approves outdoor festival grounds at J Resort for up to 15,000 attendees (Kenzie Margiott, News 4 Reno, 4/10/25)
J Resort festival grounds gets extended hours for music; neighbors concerned about noise (Jaedyn Young, Reno Gazette-Journal, 4/10/25)
Take a look at J Resort's new festival grounds being built in west Reno (Jason Bean, Reno Gazette-Journal, 4/10/25)
214 West Commercial Row (known as the 1 Up) is denied a CUP for live entertainment past 11pm, can still operate as a 24-hour bar
In what was a surprise move to many (myself included), City Council voted 5-1 (Reese absent, Ebert opposed) to deny the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) that would have allowed this nightclub to host live entertainment (which includes live DJs) between 11pm and 10am. The Planning Commission had previously granted the CUP with the condition that live entertainment could run until 3am, but the applicant wanted that extended to 5am. Instead, City Council denied the CUP altogether, meaning that while it can operate as a 24-hour bar, live entertainment can only occur until 11pm.
The motion to deny the permit was made by Ward 1 Councilmember Kathleen Taylor, who stated that she was unable to make required finding #6, which is the following:
Anyone seeking clear answers about the future of the zoned downtown “Entertainment District” (see my previous post, “Uncharted Territory,” about that) is likely even more confused after this action, since Councilmember Taylor did not specify which aspect of this finding she could not make, whether it was due to concerns for noise or vibration or perhaps some other kind of hazard entirely. That clarity is essential no matter how you feel about this outcome, considering the ongoing discussions about possible new regulations to govern live entertainment zoning downtown and elsewhere, and the future of downtown in general.
Without that clarity, many residents are struggling to understand the message being sent here—is it that this Council majority believes that nightclub operation after 11pm is in general “materially detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare” or was the denial of this permit due to concerns about this specific site, to its sound or operational plans, or to something else? That’s important both for transparency (particularly when overturning a decision of the Planning Commission that was supported by staff) and to understand what precedent may have been set here.
It’s also important so residents don’t fall into the trap of turning on one another when they should really be demanding more answers from the City and from the Councilmembers who are the ones actually making these decisions.
Here’s a slide explaining what the Planning Commission had approved in February.
If this topic interests you, I highly recommend that you watch this entire item, as a lot of information was presented and discussed. You can watch it for yourself on YouTube starting here. It’s about 90 minutes long and includes the following:
a detailed presentation from City planning staff about the application and site; the Planning Commission’s approval and conditions; and how the City thinks about compatibility of uses
a presentation from the individual lodging the appeal, Mary Babiasz
a presentation from the permit applicant, Fady Mehanna
public comment
questions from City Councilmembers to staff and the applicant including discussion of finding #6 including noise, past crime reports pertaining to the property, and the club’s security plan; the City’s options for conditioning the permit and enforcing those conditions; recent changes to City code regarding permitting; and the club’s actions to address noise and security. Starts here.
Councilmember Taylor’s motion
RESOURCE: Memos to the Mayor and City Council
A kind soul recently informed me of a helpful City resource that I hadn’t been consulting: the “Memos to the Mayor and Council,” which are posted on the City’s website here. These are memos sent to Council from various City departments, so they cover a wide range of topics as well as weekly reports on Public Records Requests, Media Requests, and Code Enforcement Service Requests.
I found a memo posted on April 9th, the very day of the last Council meeting, of particular interest. Titled “West 2nd Street Corridor Operation After Action Summary,” it was transmitted to Council through City Manager Jackie Bryant from Police Chief Kathryn Nance and describes the outcome of “focused enforcement efforts” conducted on the West 2nd Street corridor between 10pm - 4am on Friday, April 4th and Saturday, April 5th.
You can read the full tally of the operation’s results, which included three felony arrests and three misdemeanor arrests, plus an array of other types of stops, citations, warnings, and other actions. I’ll be checking the memos page regularly from now on.
JUST POSTED: A new episode of “On the Agenda”
The City of Reno just dropped a new episode of its City Manager podcast. I’m really appreciating the preview of the NEXT (April 23) City Council meeting agenda, to give all of us all a glimpse of what’s coming up, including discussion of the draft ordinance regarding ADUs.
Here’s the City’s description of this episode:
At the April 9, 2025, Council Meeting, the Reno City Council discussed a budget augmentation. But what exactly is a budget augmentation, and how does the City fund its budget? In the third episode of "On the Agenda," we welcome Vicki Van Buren, Director of Finance, to discuss budget augmentations and simplify city funding!
Additionally, we preview a few items on the agenda for the upcoming Reno City Council Meeting on April 23, 2025, at 10a. These include an initial review of a draft Reno Municipal Code concerning Accessory Dwelling Units, a hearing regarding an office park on Arlington Avenue, a Zone Change for Wooster High School from Single Family to Public Facility, and a hearing on an appeal of the Planning Commission’s decision to grant the conditional use permit for the Plumas Redevelopment Project.
Listen on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4iybM01
Listen on Apple: https://apple.co/3G9rcKq
NEWS DIGEST: The latest in local development news
News from the Nevada State Legislative session
A lot of the news from the legislature this week concerns housing, in one way or another. This past Friday marked the deadline for bills to be voted out of their first committee or receive an exemption from deadlines. Any bill that failed to do so will not be moving forward in this session.
Need for eviction assistance ‘is only going to get greater,’ state lawmaker warns (Michael Lyle, Nevada Current, 4/8/25)
Two bills seek to address growing issue of home insurance cancellations over wildfire risk (April Corbin Girnus and Jeniffer Solis, Nevada Current, 4/9/25)
Legislation would require utilities to publicly report data on household service shut offs (Jeniffer Solis, Nevada Current, 4/9/25)
Six ways Nevada policymakers are trying to tackle the housing crisis (Lizzie Ramirez, Nevada Independent, 4/10/25)
With families getting priced out, NV legislators tackle corporate ownership of housing market (April Corbin Girnus, Nevada Current, 4/10/25)
Lawmaker calls out Realtors Association for flip-flopping on senior rent stabilization bill (Michael Lyle, Nevada Current, 4/10/25)
Controversial fire services consolidation bill advances out of Senate committee (Bob Conrad, This is Reno, 4/11/25)
Sparks mayor disappointed as toll road plan to ease I-80 traffic congestion hits dead end (Kenzie Margiott, News 4 Reno, 4/11/25)
Assorted local development-related news
Cereal maker Post closing its longtime Sparks manufacturing plant (Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette-Journal, 4/9/25)
Student housing project near UNR in default, listed for sale at $18.5 million (Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette-Journal, 4/10/25) - This is an unconstructed “shovel-ready” project with the address of 434 Highland Avenue.
Reno-Sparks climbs US population rankings, Las Vegas holds steady: See latest Census data (Brett McGinness, Reno Gazette-Journal, 4/10/25)
Nearly 100 low-income units open in Reno after Village on Sage Street expansion (Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette-Journal, 4/11/25)
Research continues to show Nevada casinos expose patrons to secondhand smoke (Lily Wright, This is Reno, 4/13/25)
How is national economic turmoil affecting Northern Nevada? Here's one perspective (Mark Robison, Reno Gazette-Journal, 4/13/25)
‘I’ve lost sleep’: Uncertainty from Trump tariffs rattles Reno businesses (Jason Hidalgo and Mark Robison, Reno Gazette-Journal, 4/13/25)
That’s all for now. Have a great week, everyone.
Be sure to check out my Citizen Guide for helpful resources and links to help anyone become more informed and engaged in issues related to urban development (& more) in Reno.
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