The Board of Supervisors on Thursday approved a new residential development in south Carson City.
Borda Crossing is a planned subdivision of 28 houses on a 5.27 acre lot bordered by Center, Clearview and Silver Sage drives.
The project, which required a zoning map amendment to reduce the lot sizes from 1 acre to 6,000 square feet, is opposed by some nearby homeowners whose properties are 1 acre or larger. About two dozen neighbors submitted public comment voicing various concerns about wellhead protection, traffic, and a lack of transition between low and medium-density development.
The proposal initially went before the board last year when the supervisors told staff to work with the developer to provide more of a buffer between the development and the neighboring properties. The developer reduced the plan from 38 houses to 28, and used a provision of the municipal code that allows them to reduce lot sizes in exchange for providing additional open space at the north and south sides of the development.
One issue is access. The plan calls for a single, interior road exiting at one end onto Silver Sage Drive and onto Center Drive at the other end. One idea was to make the road a cul de sac with no access to Center Drive, but Mayor Lori Bagwell, for one, said she would not support it as that would make only one point of entry and exit.
In the end, a compromise was found when Mark Turner, representing the developer, suggested the road go through to Center Drive but only be accessible there for emergency purposes. The supervisors approved the tentative map with the added condition staff work with the developer to find a method for blocking the road except for emergency access.
The required zoning change passed on a vote of 4-1 with Supervisor Maurice White voting no. White said zoning map changes should be made during master plan reviews.
The vote sparked some discussion of the city’s master plan, which is now 15 years old.
“My dilemma is this,” said Supervisor Lisa Schuette. “I appreciate the master plan. It’s a great master plan, but I really think since this development will be here for a long time it would behoove us to figure out a plan that is more mindful of that area as a whole.”
The land is identified for medium-density development in the master plan as a transition between low-density development and mixed-use residential and mixed-use employment.
“The master plan designation matches what is being requested here,” said Bagwell.
Bagwell pointed out that the zoning map change is an ordinance with first and second readings so the public can comment again for the second reading.
The supervisors voted to keep the property tax rate a $3.57 per $100 of assessed value for fiscal year 2022 as part of a vote to accept financial assumptions for building the budget.
Sheri Russell, chief financial officer, said she expects Carson City’s sales tax, which grew last calendar year despite the pandemic, to drop by about 5 percent each month for the first half of 2021. She said the state as a whole and Clark County specifically have seen sales tax collections drop for months now.
“I’m very concerned we’re going to catch up and start decreasing,” she said.
Plans for a shade structure on McFadden Plaza were nixed by the board when it met as the Redevelopment Authority to consider the redevelopment budget.
Both White and Supervisor Stan Jones said enough money had already been spent on downtown and Bagwell said she thought a shade structure was the wrong solution for the plaza.
“I really have a problem concentrating so much effort into downtown,” said White. “I hear from the community all the time, ‘Why is the only thing that matters is downtown?’” said White.
White suggested moving $12,600 allocated for the shade structure as well as $50,000 set aside for the facade improvement program and, possibly, $95,000 for new Christmas decorations redirected to sidewalk improvements and placing utilities underground, but the board voted to move only the shade structure money into sidewalk work. Other budget items approved included the new Christmas decorations, $5,000 on bike racks, and $20,000 for conceptual plans for the V&T arch.
Vaccine shipments were delayed this week due to bad weather, said Jeanne Freeman, Public Health Preparedness Manager, Carson City Health and Human Services.
Freeman said vaccine events had to be postponed. She said appointments are being rescheduled, not canceled, and new dates for the events would be announced as soon as they are known.
CCHHS is continuing to work with the state to move to its vaccine appointment system, said Nicki Aaker, director, CCHHS.
The city currently uses a system through Immunize Nevada that works but continues to deliver an erroneous message that confuses users.
Aaker said between Jan. 31 and Feb. 13, 95 new cases of coronavirus were reported in Carson City, a 19 percent drop from the previous two-week period.
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