Master plan subject of special meeting

The Carson City Planning Division has completed its newest draft of the Comprehensive Master Plan and land-use map.

The final public workshop will be held at 5:30 p.m. today before the Planning Commission.

This late-February draft of the plan had a few minor changes compared to the late-November version.

The section about planning and property, for example, now explains up front some of the lawful rights of property owners, such as how the Fifth Amendment protects citizens against the government taking land without providing fair compensation.

It also contains more explanations of zoning consistency and provides a map and more discussion about specific sections of downtown called "character areas."

Creating the plan is required by law. The document itself, however, "is to influence future decisions, but it's not law," said Lee Plemel, the city's principal planner.

The Comprehensive Master Plan and the other documents that together comprise Envision - Parks and Recreation Master Plan and Unified Pathways Master Plan - are scheduled to go before the Planning Commission for recommendation March 27. An adoption hearing by the Board of Supervisors is expected in April.

Copies of the Comprehensive Master Plan can be downloaded from the Envision Carson City Web site at www.CarsonCityMasterPlan.com. Computer CDs containing the plan and maps can be obtained from the Planning Division office, 887-2180.

-- Contact reporter Terri Harber at tharber @nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 215.

If you go

WHAT: Public workshop for the Comprehensive Master Plan

WHEN: 5:30 p.m. today

WHERE: Sierra Room, Community Center, 851 E. William St.