Sign code, the Lear Theater, downtown redevelopment priorities & more
Potential sign code changes to be discussed at Planning Commission, plus previews and updates for the week of October 14, 2024
It was such a pleasure to meet so many of you at the Nevada Humanities Literary Crawl this past Saturday. Thanks so much for saying hi, and I hope you all found the day as enjoyable and inspiring as I did!
Today’s highlighted issue is the City’s sign code, particularly as it impacts downtown, but first, you can find the schedule of all public City meetings for the week of October 14-18 along with agendas and supporting materials here. They include the following:
Monday 10/14: Public Art Committee of the Arts and Culture Commission (11am);
Ward 1 NAB (5:30pm)←CANCELLEDTuesday 10/15: Ward 2 NAB (5:30pm), Recreation and Parks Commission (6pm)
Wednesday 10/16: Urban Forestry Commission (5:30pm); Reno Planning Commission (6pm, online agenda here)
Thursday 10/17: Ward 4 NAB (6pm)
The NABs that meet this week will all hear updates on the City’s “Zoning Code Clean-Up”, among other items. Keep in mind that you can view and participate in all of these meetings virtually by registering via a link on their agendas.
Potential Changes to the City’s Sign Code
One of the items on the Reno Planning Commission agenda (Item 5.1) is an initial review of proposed changes to the Title 18 Sign Code. As explained on the City’s “Zoning Code Clean-Up” webpage, this discussion follows a series of stakeholder and public outreach meetings that finished up at the end of last month, and the City is now asking the Planning Commission for input and feedback on the sign code prior to a similar review by City Council, likely in November. The final draft ordinance is scheduled for review in early 2025. You can view the Staff Report for this item here.
The sign code is a specialized area, to be sure, but its provisions impact the quality of life for our entire community, from the experience of our daily commute to the appearance of our neighborhoods and districts to the view out our bedroom windows.
There’s a lot in this update, much of its regarding edits for consistency and clarity. But it has drawn particular concern from the nonprofit organization Scenic Nevada and others for the signage allowances given by right in the center of downtown—what’s formally zoned as the “Entertainment District.” Here’s a map of that area, bounded on the south side by Second Street and extending from Ralston Street on the west to Record Street on the east, with an additional extension along the ballpark property. On the north is a jagged boundary jutting up to Seventh Street at its northernmost tip.
You can read the alert issued by Scenic Nevada here. As they explain, the code as written in this proposed draft would “allow any business – from pawn shops to liquor stores – in the downtown district in addition to casinos to have 100-foot-tall signs with no limit on number, size or types of lighting.”
You’ll see that there is a difference of opinion between the City of Reno and Scenic Nevada regarding precisely what is allowed today and how we got here. According to Scenic Nevada, an earlier draft of this code restricted that very liberal signage (up to 100 feet high with no public review) in the downtown area to gaming properties ONLY, while according to the City of Reno, the granting of such liberal signage to ALL properties in the downtown Entertainment District dates back to 2005. You can view the City’s explanation from one of the stakeholder meetings here.
To me what’s most important here is not necessarily what was allowed or proposed in the past, but the opportunity being afforded us today to re-examine a potentially outdated section of code that may have run its course.
For starters, I think we need to take a good hard look at what this map (and current City zoning) categorizes as the “Entertainment District,” described in the City’s 2017 Downtown Action Plan as “traditionally the 24-hour gaming area that includes the major hotel casinos in the core, the Events Center and National Bowling Stadium” (p. 44). The definition of this and other downtown districts was intended to “help shape the future of Downtown over the next five to ten years” (p. 55) and became part of the Reimagine Reno Master Plan.
The section describing the Entertainment District had this to say about residential development in the area:
This description was developed almost eight years ago. In the interim, residential development has expanded throughout this area—not just on the western, southern, and northeastern edges, but smack dab in its center. Harrah’s Reno closed in 2020, and if the financial restructuring of Reno City Center is successful, its towers will become primarily or entirely residential. The brand new Ballpark Apartments, comprising a full block between Lake and Evans Streets, is completely residential (although you might recall that when initially approved in 2007, the baseball stadium was supposed to spur an entire entertainment district to its west). Jacobs Entertainment is now completing its apartment building on the corner of Arlington and West 2nd Street.
If you look back to 2005, when, according to the City, this liberal signage was first allowed for all gaming AND non-gaming properties in the Entertainment District area, the transformation of this section of town is even more stark.
As a result of this ongoing transformation, which the City is heavily encouraging, it’s important for the City to recognize when certain aspects of its code may be coming into conflict with its other goals. How many blocks designated on that map of the Entertainment District now contain, or could in the future contain residential development? Does it make sense to allow non-gaming properties in this entire district to have unlimited signage up to the size of Jacobs’ animated digital sign that can be viewed from miles away (which was obviously the goal), without any public review? What if that sign were right outside your apartment window?
A sign doesn’t have to be nearly that large or bright to be visually intrusive, and a proliferation of signs can add enormously to a sense of visual clutter. The primary question here is not whether such signage should be allowed at all on non-gaming properties in the Entertainment District, but whether it should be allowed without any discretionary (i.e. public) review. But perhaps we should start to consider that first question, too, along with whether the designation of “Entertainment District” even makes sense for this area anymore.
The City is rightfully proposing to rectify an unintended consequence of a provision in code that has briefly allowed ALL properties found within a “gaming overlay” anywhere in the city (areas where gaming is allowed, a total of approximately 1,971 acres) to benefit from the same unlimited signage as casino properties. Only the gaming properties in most of those areas would now be allowed unlimited signage. But so far the City is still singling out the 136 acres of the mixed-use “Entertainment District” downtown as an exception, making it the sole area in the city where non-gaming properties get unlimited signage, too. Does that make sense anymore? This is your chance to weigh in, first at Planning Commission this week, and next month in front of City Council.
Par Tolles on Nevada Newsmakers
On the topic of downtown, I want to draw your attention to a recent episode of Sam Shad’s Nevada Newsmakers show featuring developer Par Tolles. You can view it here.
In addition to discussing many of his company’s recent development projects, Tolles (who sits on the Board of the Downtown Reno Partnership) shares his thoughts on downtown revitalization. And I’m having a hard time understanding one of his points, so I’m hoping some of you (maybe Tolles himself) can help clarify what he means. The whole video is illuminating, but if you head to the 13:00 mark or so, he refers to certain “stubborn” owners of what he calls “really dilapidated buildings” on the east side of Virginia Street who he believes need to sell their properties “at reasonable prices to allow for redevelopment.”
Tolles also expresses his desire for Reno’s code enforcement to “amp up what they demand” for Virginia Street (he says “South Virginia” but he seems to mean North Virginia), and says that if certain property owners in this area don’t “reinvest” in their properties, they should be forced to sell them. Sam Shad, who seems to know what buildings Tolles is talking about, says “these are owners that have been there since the fifties and sixties—multiple owners on single properties that have made it so difficult for City Council to negotiate with them.”
Could someone tell me specifically which properties these two are talking about? The east side of Virginia Street in the heart of downtown includes Reno Vulcanizing, a row of historic brick commercial buildings across from the Silver Legacy, the mid-century Thunderbird Motel, the 1928 St. Francis Hotel, Palace Jewelry & Loan, Reno City Center, and Club Cal-Neva. Are these the properties being labeled dilapidated? Does “redevelop” mean “raze and replace”? Because Tolles sits on the Board of the DRP and in that role helps direct its actions, I’d love to know who and what is being labeled as the problem here. If we all agree it’s a problem, we can more easily band together to fix it. And if our visions differ, it would be good to know that, too.
More Items on the Planning Commission agenda
In addition to the Signage Code, the Planning Commission has three discretionary reviews on tap for Wednesday, October 16.
4.1 - Virginia Village Self Storage. This is a request to construct a mini-warehouse facility adjacent to residentially zoned property on North Virginia Street, directly east of its intersection with Talus Way. View the Staff Report here and other materials via the agenda.
4.2 - Need 2 Speed. This is a request for a conditional use permit to allow an indoor entertainment venue with a variety of entertainment options and bar in the Northtowne Marketplace shopping center. View the Staff Report here and other materials via the agenda.
4.3 - 2400 West 7th Street. This is a request to approve a tentative map for a 28-lot single-family detached subdivision and a major site plan review for cluster development on a site directly south of the intersection of West 7th Street and Rhode Island Drive (see below). This has generated a lot of discussion including a community meeting, and you can access the Staff Report and Exhibits A through J (maps, reports, NAB and community meeting comment forms, etc.) on the online agenda.
To comment on any Planning Commission item, you can attend the meeting in person or attend online by registering at https://links.reno.gov/PC10-16-24. To provide public comments in advance, you can (1) submit an online public comment form at http://www.reno.gov/PCPublicComment; (2) send an email to RenoPlanningCommission@reno.gov; or leave a voicemail at (775) 393-1776. (You can also mail in public comment, but I wouldn’t advise that for this week’s meeting.)
News Digest: The Latest in Local Development
If you’re wondering what’s new on the downtown landscape (and beyond), Downtown Makeover has an informative new video update for October 2024.
You can subscribe to Downtown Makeover’s YouTube channel to keep up with those video updates. Mike also had breaking news about the Reno City Center (former Harrah’s) project, which might be getting back on track:
“Reno City Center takes big step forward in bankruptcy proceedings” (Mike Van Houten, Downtown Makeover, 10/9/24)
As usual, This is Reno provides the most thorough coverage of Reno City Council meetings, with several articles about the October 9 Council meeting:
“Next ‘Vintage’ affordable housing project moves forward despite ongoing tenant issues at other Vintage properties” (Kelsey Penrose, This is Reno, 10/10/24)
“Reno terminates agreement with Waste Management to pursue updated contract” (Kelsey Penrose, This is Reno, 10/11/24)
“Lear Theater holds onto funding – for now” (Kelsey Penrose, This is Reno, 10/13/24)
Update on the Lear Theater
As I wrote last week (and This is Reno reported above), the former Church of Christ, Scientist building, also known as the Lear Theater, was back in front of City Council. The question was whether to reallocate funds previously designated for work related to the building. Long story short, City Council voted to uphold the entire allocation (after almost losing $300,000 of it to fund downtown trash cans), and as a result, various projects including erecting a temporary (8 years max) wrought iron fence, concrete work, irrigation, electrical work, and landscaping can proceed. Once these improvements are completed, the idea is to promote using the grounds of the building for various events, perhaps even renting out that outdoor space, in order to both protect the building and begin to generate a revenue stream for its rehabilitation.
I was concerned, however, to hear Mayor Schieve state that her preference would be for the City to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the property, to see what ideas people have for revitalizing the building. This, to me, would be the wrong approach. The advantage of bringing this historic property into public ownership (as she does believe it should remain) is that the community can now discuss how we would like to see this incredibly significant building restored and for what, rather than responding to the ideas generated by would-be developers in some kind of open call. The covenants actually require it to be some kind of community or cultural center, but precisely what kind and used by whom and for what purpose remain open questions.
Once the commissioned Historic Structures Report currently underway is completed (it’s scheduled to be presented to the Historical Resources Commission next month), I hope that the City will initiate a series of listening sessions to formally discuss how residents would like to see this building used, and what options might be feasible to restore and reopen it. Councilmember Brekhus recommended conducting some kind of facilities and cultural programming analysis to evaluate area needs. After all that, the City can certainly open up to proposals for how to achieve that vision. But the vision—and the community discussion to generate that vision—have to come first.
Reno City Council General Election info
As early voting is set to begin soon, remember to consult my Guide to the General Election for Reno City Council, which you can access here. It includes links to all candidate websites, their interviews with local media outlets, information on Reno’s new six-ward configuration, and more. Please read and share!
Check out my Citizen Guide for resources and links to help you 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.