Schulz builders request more time for park for Carson City project

The developers of Schulz Ranch may get more time to build a park.

The Parks and Recreation Commission on Tuesday heard a request from Lennar Reno, LLC and RyderDUDA Carson, LLC, the builders at the south Carson City residential development, to change the timeline requiring construction of a park.

The development was originally approved in 2006 for 500 residential units and the developers agreed to complete a 3.8-acre park there before the 250th building permit was issued.

In 2013 that was changed to 210 permits when the development downsized to 424 houses, Susan Pansky, special projects planner, Community Development, told the commission.

Now, the builders want to bump it back up to 250 permits because home sales are going more quickly than anticipated and the park can’t be built until next spring, said Tim Scheideman, director of land development, Northern Nevada, Lennar.

Scheideman said the park’s design is about 90 percent complete and construction can begin in April and be completed by September.

The builder has already pulled about 130 building permits, he said, and is pulling between 6 to 10 each month.

The concern, Scheideman said, is construction could stall if the park isn’t complete when the 210th permit is issued. Lennar would have to wait until the park is done before pulling the next permit.

Commission Lori Bagwell said the fact the park design is nearly complete reassured her the builders would live up to their commitment and Jennifer Budge, director, Parks, Recreation and Open Space, said Lennar had met all their deadlines and a better park would be built if construction waited until next summer.

“They’ve been wonderful to work with,” said Budge. “The timing makes sense, it will mean healthy plants and trees. There are problems with winter construction. We’ll get a better project in the end.”

Commissioner Robert Glenn raised concerns home buyers were promised a park sooner so the commission agreed to recommend the change in number of permits to the Board of Supervisors if the sales agreement signed by home buyers doesn’t promise a park built by construction of 210 houses.

The commission also discussed the city’s part in providing equipment and services to special events.

David Navarro, parks operation superintendent, said that between a spike in the number of events and a drop off in seasonal staffing the department is stretched thin providing support.

In addition, some of the equipment, such as bleachers the department provides are aging and need replacement.

“Sounds like we have two opposite options,” said Glenn. “Getting out of it or ponying up with the budget for equipment and extra staffing.”

Budge suggested there might be a hybrid approach: the department could continue to provide some services and equipment it was suited for and leave other services, such as some large equipment rentals, to third-party businesses the event organizers would retain on their own.

Budge said the city’s departments rely on some of the services Parks and Rec provides so she didn’t want to shortchange them, either.

Glenn and others wanted to ensure some longtime events, such as the Taste of Downtown and Father’s Day Powwow, wouldn’t be adversely affected so the commission directed staff to do more research before continuing the discussion at its December meeting.

The commission also voted to recommend to the supervisors an application for Nevada Division of State Parks grant money to rehab the trail system at Long Ranch Park, and heard presentations on the park’s maintenance work and efforts to make Carson City a smoke-free town.