Carson City Board of Supervisors approve Lompa Ranch plan

Plans for a new residential subdivision on Lompa Ranch moved forward on Thursday when the Board of Supervisors approved a tentative map for the project.

The project is proposed on 26.89 acres south of 5th Street at the east end of Railroad Drive and includes 103 houses.

Neighbors to the project have been actively opposing it from the start and were instrumental in getting some changes made to the original proposal.

The initial plan called for 107 houses, for example, but the developer reduced the number of lots to 103 after meeting with nearby homeowners, said Michael Railey, partner, Rubicon Design Group, a representative.

Also, the developer planned to eventually add a road connecting to 5th Street, but the city required the road be built before construction and upgraded before buildout after residents voiced concerns about traffic.

“The issue of secondary access almost killed this, which shows how input from neighbors can have an effect,” said Mayor Bob Crowell.

Four nearby homeowners spoke during public comment about noise from I-580, which is just east of the site, traffic, and floodplains and wetlands.

Kelly Clark, one neighbor, said the city should be wary about allowing development in a floodplain since the disastrous floods in Lemmon Valley north of Reno, and the ongoing effects of climate change.

A northern piece of the site is in a flood zone and the developer plans to elevate lots and add a 100-foot wide drainage buffer, which will double as wetlands mitigation, to remove 33 lots from the floodplain.

“The city has standards for developing in flood zones, which are stricter than federal,” said Stephen Pottéy, senior project manager, Public Works.

The board approved the tentative map on a vote of 4-1 with Supervisor John Barrette voting no.

The board also approved a two-year interlocal agreement with the state of Nevada to purchase water from the Marlette Lake Water System operated by the state.

The agreement calls for the city to pay for ongoing bond service, about $50,000 per month, on bonds issued for construction; a monthly operation and maintenance fee of $12,099; and to buy raw water for 75 cents per 1,000 gallons. The agreement is not to exceed a total of $2.7 million for 2020 and 2021 fiscal years.

“We see this as an interim step, a way to get to a long-term agreement, toward a beneficial contract in the future,” said Eddy Quaglieri, water utility manager, Public Works.

The city’s previous agreement with the state expired five years ago and the city stopped purchasing water about a year and a half ago. In that time, the city and the state have been renegotiating a new deal off and on, but the state began talking to Truckee Meadows Water Authority about a separate agreement as a way to make up for the current shortfall in revenue.

A follow-on, long-term agreement could include the state, the city, and TMWA as well as Storey County, which relies on Marlette Lake water.

“I think we’re trying to deal in good faith here, and I call on the state to come to the table in good faith,” said Supervisor Brad Bonkowski. “I feel we’ve gotten some pushback, unnecessary pushback.”

In other actions, the board:

approved an amended collective bargaining agreement with the sheriff’s lieutenants and captains, a three-member collective bargaining unit. The amendment has an estimated fiscal impact of $386,230 over the five-year span of the agreement;

appointed Adriana Fralick, deputy city manager, as acting public guardian, to replace Jean Perpich, the former guardian, who resigned, while the city recruits for the position;

and passed its annual growth management resolution, setting the number of available residential building permits at 679 for 2020.