UPDATE: Reno's top development issues & current public input opportunities
The latest in local urban development news for the week of June 22, 2026
Well, we are now officially post-primary election and the final results are in. I’ll soon be publishing a new guide to Reno’s general election with a list of candidate websites, recent appearances, interviews, media coverage & more, so stay tuned for that.
In the meantime, the Reno City Council is on their summer hiatus until July 22nd, but there are still some public meetings this week including the Reno City Charter Committee on Thursday, June 25th (agenda here). For the rest of Reno’s public meetings, check out the City’s Current and Upcoming Meetings webpage.
Other local meetings of relevance to Reno this week:
Tuesday, June 23, 10am - WASHOE COUNTY COMMISSION (agenda here). This is Reno has a meeting preview here: Washoe County commissioners to consider golf course contract, opioid funding, EV tax question.
Tuesday, June 23, 2pm - WCSD BOARD OF TRUSTEES (agenda here). This is Reno meeting preview: Washoe County school board to weigh $50M bond, charter school fate and major facilities decisions
Thursday, June 25, 6pm - TMRPA REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION. (Meetings page here and Agenda here) Items up for consideration include Clear Acre Commons and the Lemmon Valley Plaza.
UPDATE: TEN RENO DEVELOPMENT ISSUES FOR 2026
Back in January, I brought up ten local development issues that I believed would be important to follow in 2026 (see Part 1 & Part 2). They’re all likely to remain front and center this campaign season, so I’d like to take stock of where things stand with each. I’ll start this week with the first five, and address the second five in my next Brief.
ISSUE #1 - CASINOS
Here’s what I wrote in January. In the intervening six months, we’ve seen some major developments and announcements related to local gaming properties:
Fertitta Entertainment will acquire Caesars Entertainment, owner of The ROW.
Jacobs Entertainment completed its new entrance and some artificial turf soccer fields and released renderings of a 55-story hotel tower and other ambitious ideas.
Reno Pro Soccer announced plans for a stadium and entertainment district on Kietzke Lane that will include a “small establishment casino experience.”
The skyrocketing popularity of prediction markets has quickly become a major force for the gaming industry to contend with, potentially impacting brick-and-mortar casino properties everywhere.
Over the next few months, we’ll see if the change in ownership of the Eldorado, Silver Legacy, and Circus Circus translates into any significant changes to the properties—ideally beginning with a cleanup of their exterior decay, which was featured among that of other problem downtown properties in a recent video by Downtown Makeover.
ISSUE #2 - DATA CENTERS
Here’s what I wrote in January. Since then, the Reno City Council voted to impose a temporary moratorium on accepting any new permit applications for data centers, effective through August 31, 2027 or until the Council adopts new regulations. They also voted to direct staff to begin the process of putting together those regulations.
Here’s a great explainer of that decision and what it means:
Reno extends its data center moratorium into 2027. Here’s what happens next. City staff are casting a wide net of topics — ranging from water usage to community benefit agreements — as they craft proposals on how to oversee the industry. (Nevada Independent 6/2/26)
This pause on accepting new permits will not only allow the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency (TMRPA) to continue its ongoing regional efforts but will allow Reno to coordinate its new regulations with any new actions or policies adopted by the 2027 Nevada State Legislature.
And Reno is not alone among Nevada municipalities in considering a pause in permitting for data centers in order to catch up with the industry’s vigorous pace:
Henderson considers data center pause amid construction boom across Clark County (Nevada Independent 6/17/26)
Las Vegas data center expansion approved as officials ponder need for future regulations (Nevada Independent 6/18/26)
If you haven’t already, be sure to take the TMRPA’s survey on data centers, which you can find at https://www.tmrpa.org/data-center-engagement/.
And be sure to check out the following resources:
Desert Research Institute: DATA CENTER WATER AND ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION IN NEVADA (features link to full report and StoryMap)
Truckee Meadows Data Center Policy Consortium website (features calendar of upcoming regional meetings and related resources)
ISSUE #3 - DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION
Here’s what I wrote in January. I’m treating Reno’s Redevelopment Agency as a separate issue (#9), so this one is about City of Reno actions related to downtown, and how various City policies might either help or hinder its revitalization. Also, the City Plaza recently emerged as a topic of intense discussion and I’ll have more on that next week under Issue #8: Public Spaces.
Just before their summer hiatus, the City Council passed a “pilot” phase of a new Live Entertainment Ordinance that temporarily suspends conditional use permit requirements for indoor live entertainment venues in the downtown, MidTown and 4th Street corridors (see Item F.1 here). The program will end on December 31, 2027.
This spring brought a flurry of citizen-written op-eds about downtown, and before the primary election, This is Reno featured thoughts from Reno candidates (including those who won the primaries) on what could be done for downtown Reno:
Reno’s council and mayor candidates differ on what to do about downtown (This is Reno 6/5/26)
Look to downtown Reno to be an ongoing topic of discussion by our local candidates as their campaigns continue through November—and let’s do everything we can to press them on specific downtown policies or actions they’d like to see the City take.
ISSUE #4 - HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Here’s what I wrote in January when we had just conducted the hugely successful community meeting for the Lear. Several months later, the Reno City Council (as the Redevelopment Agency Board) voted in two separate meetings to issue an Request for Proposals for the property and to dedicate $2 million toward a feasibility study for the property along with landscaping and some basic protective efforts for the building.
I worked this spring with City Councilmember Naomi Duerr and City staff to help determine how to coordinate these directives and I’m happy to say that we came up with a workable plan and timeline that will allow everything to be accomplished in the appropriate order and with ample advance notice, beginning later this summer and extending into the fall and winter. Expect more information from the City soon, and be sure to sign up for the Lear newsletter if you haven’t already done so.
The Lear, of course, is not the only historic preservation issue in Reno. Here are a few more updates and items of interest:
In May, a segment of East 4th Street was added as a commercial historic district to the National Register of Historic Places! More on that here.
The MidTown District was named a 2026 Main Street accredited program. This recognizes the district’s commitment to creating meaningful improvements through preservation-based economic development and community revitalization using the Main Street Approach.™” Check out the district’s history & current historic buildings through this virtual tour of Historic MidTown.
I’m thrilled to announced the completion of a project I’ve been working on for the City of Reno: a Historic Context Study and Survey related to the History and Heritage of Reno’s African American Community. This was a truly collaborative effort with my colleague ZoAnn Campana and the deep involvement of Demetrice Dalton of Our Story, Inc. and many members of our local community. The 381-page document (linked above) includes a narrative, architectural survey, and oral histories intended to help identify, interpret, preserve, and recognize more local historic properties related to the African American community. Check it out!
It’s walking tour season with the Historic Reno Preservation Society! View all the options and sign up on their website here. RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED.
ISSUE #5 - HOMELESSNESS
Here’s what I wrote in January. It wasn’t clear at the time if the Community Homelessness Advisory Board (CHAB) would be dissolved. Happily, it was not, and according to the Washoe County calendar, the CHAB is next scheduled to meet on Monday June 29th at 9:00am. An agenda will be posted on that page when available.
The CHAB last met on May 11th, as reported by This is Reno here. Representing the City of Reno on this public body are Ward 6 Councilmember Brandi Anderson and Ward 1 Councilmember Kathleen Taylor.
Homelessness remains a major issue in our community as elsewhere, and those CHAB meetings are really the only centralized place for focused discussion of ongoing regional policies, actions, resources, and concerns. So mark June 29 on your calendar and in the meantime, here’s some more news and information to keep you up to date:
One measure of local homelessness can be found on Washoe County’s Real-Time Shelter Data at a Glance webpage, which provides “a real-time snapshot of bed occupancy across Washoe County Housing and Homeless Services programs.”
The Reno Initiative for Shelter (RISE) won the contract to take over operation of the Safe Camp at the Nevada Cares Campus, to begin on July 1st.
The Reno Housing Authority broke ground last month on Hope Landing, a 15-unit project providing permanent supportive housing for residents who are chronically homeless at the lowest income levels. It should open in spring 2027.
We’ll stop there today with my top ten local development issues to watch this year. Next week I’ll have updates on the final five: Housing, Politics, Public Spaces, the Reno Redevelopment Agency, and the Truckee River.
YOUR INPUT IS NEEDED NOW, SO DON’T DELAY!
I’ll end today with a number of requests for residents to weigh in on some major local issues, projects, and plans. It’s important to make a habit of doing so, since public input is generally weighed quite heavily, but you have to participate in these formal processes for that feedback to be recorded, tabulated, and considered.
NDOT: Proposed Changes to Interstate 80
Through June 26, you can watch a Virtual Public Meeting related to NDOT’s plans to modify Interstate 80 through Sparks. Here’s some coverage with a quick explanation:
NDOT seeks public input on proposed I-80 changes in Sparks for Spaghetti Bowl project. (News4 6/5/26)
These proposed changes deserve your full attention. This phase is focusing on the stretch of Interstate 80 between Rock Boulevard and McCarran Boulevard in Sparks, where NDOT is proposing widening I-80 to three lanes in each direction and rebuilding key interchanges.
You can access the virtual materials at https://spaghettibowlphase2a.com/ and fill out the comment form. The materials include some striking Before & After views of Victorian Plaza and Victorian Avenue looking south including the following.
BEFORE (current)
AFTER {proposed)
City of Reno Strategic Plan
You have until June 30th to provide your input on Reno’s updated Strategic Plan. See my prior explanation of this at PUBLIC INPUT OPPORTUNITY: The City of Reno requests feedback on the City’s new Strategic Plan.
Washoe County School District: Help name a new elementary school!
The WCSD is requesting resident input on the name for a new elementary school to be built on the site of Pine Middle School. The final 11 options are listed here:
As that report indicates, three final options will be chosen at a public meeting on July 27th at 5:30 p.m. at the school district’s administration building, and then sent to the board of trustees for the final decision. You can find a link to the survey on the above website. The deadline to submit the survey is June 30th.
That’s all for today. Have a great week, stay cool and hydrated, and please consider donating a new fan to the annual Summer Fan Drive for Seniors.
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.
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, via the Buy me a coffee platform, or via check to Alicia Barber at P.O. Box 11955, Reno, NV 89510. Thank you!
GE Vernova and Solar Turbines manufacture power units that work on natural gas that are built on data center sites to power the centers so they don’t have to tap into the local utilities grid. This should be a mandatory condition for building and center.
https://g.co/gemini/share/d3e2e07547b0
Thank you for such good work on. The City of Reno happenings