Carson City planning commissioners OK master plan update

The Carson City Planning Commission on Wednesday recommended approval of the master plan update but not before hearing from residents worried about overdevelopment.

The vote on a resolution to adopt the update — and recommend to the Board of Supervisors the same — was 5-0 with Commissioners Robert Pyzel and Greg Brooks absent.

The Carson City Master Plan, in the update process since 2023, contains land use designations and guiding principles for the entire city. Supervisors are set to consider the update at their May 1 meeting.

“We will not be discussing the new Carson City downtown square master plan, which has nothing to do with our planning commission,” Planning Commission Chair Charles Borders said at the beginning of Wednesday’s meeting. “This is a conceptual plan authored by the developer and not the city staff.”

Noting the master plan update was separate from the so-called town square project, Borders instructed those interested in the latter to speak during general public comment.

More than 20 people did speak, many arguing Carson City’s small-town character was in danger. The town square project spearheaded by the Hop and Mae Adams Foundation was one topic. Other topics were high-density housing, traffic and quality of life.

“Please, take a moment, and allow the people around you and the public to give input on what is going on in their community,” said Dee Dee Foremaster. “These people are angry and upset, and they should be because our town is basically being destroyed.”

Resident Joy Trushenski opposed what she believed was a rush to approve the update. She echoed calls to delay approval.

“Please give us more time and choices in this matter,” she said. “This is the people’s business. We pay taxes and should have a say.”

Moving to the specific agenda item on the master plan update, Community Development Director Hope Sullivan said the plan is a policy document that guides zoning code. She said over the update process, the city met with residents, service groups, business owners, high school and college students, members of the Hispanic community and others.

“We… have had more than 25 stops on our listening tour,” she said. “We sent postcards to over 18,000 property owners. Every single property owner in the community received a postcard about today’s hearing. This generated 57 phone calls, 21 walk-in customers and 15 emails.”

Darcie White of Clarion Associates, the city’s consultant for the update, maintained the plan does reflect community input.

“One thing I did want to emphasize — there’s been a lot of comments about density — is that the big portion of the major land use map is designated for low-density residential and medium-density residential, so generally, the areas that are designated for mixed use and multifamily are consistent with those areas that were designated in the 2006 plan,” she said.

As part of their action, commissioners approved upward of 150 revisions stemming from earlier meetings. Revisions ranged from minor textual edits to land map changes for specific parcels. The supporting materials are available online: d2kbkoa27fdvtw.cloudfront.net/carsoncity/6c3a1a77e9c54510947f10f41fa006910.pdf.

The master plan update does pose two new land use categories: corridor mixed use for the Carson Street and Highway 50 corridors and flex industrial that replaces mixed use employment and is “intended to provide concentrated areas of light industrial uses, combined with a mix of complementary commercial and retail services,” according to the current draft.

However, examining an area along College Parkway and Goni Road proposed for flex industrial, commissioners decided to call the category “flex” and include commercial use as a primary use.

Commissioner Ellen Dechristopher said those speaking at Wednesday’s hearing represented a specific viewpoint, and she encouraged more communication between all stakeholders.

“We had other people at these meetings such as business owners that looked at things a little differently because they had different objectives,” she said. “They didn’t have objectives that were really related to residential other than wishing they had more housing — affordable housing available for their staff.”

Dechristopher said planning commissioners also love the city’s small-town culture and added, “We’re at a point we can move it (the plan) forward because it’s never done.”

In other action:

• Commissioners unanimously approved an 8-foot block wall along 143.5 feet west of the Panda Express drive-through restaurant being built on North Carson Street.

The property is zoned retail commercial, and the wall will serve as a buffer between the eatery and neighbors to the west.

“A resident actually reached out to Panda… they requested a seven-to-eight-foot-high wall, so Panda took that into consideration and said yes,” said Kara Beadleston, project manager for Klover Architects.

Commissioner Vern Krahn said the Planning Commission often deals with conflicts between property owners with different land uses.

“Thank you for making our job a lot easier tonight with this particular proposal,” he said. “I appreciate the residents and you working this out.”

• Commissioners unanimously approved a SUP for the Carson City Parks, Recreation and Open Space Department for a metal storage container at the Pony Express Airpark on public regional land, which lies approximately 1,840 feet east of Flint Drive.

The container will be used by the High Sierra Radio Control Club.

“The HSRCC has a membership of approximately 100 people and the club operates the Pony Express Airpark which is a fenced and paved area for flying radio-controlled airplanes,” says a staff report. “The applicant, in coordination with the club, has requested the placement of a metal storage container at the site to provide for weatherproofed storage of materials associated with the recreational use of the site. The storage container is proposed to be located adjacent to an existing block building within the lease area.”

Commissioners tweaked one condition of approval to ensure the storage container is painted to match the existing structure.

• Commissioners unanimously approved a SUP for an approximately 1,732-square-foot guest building (being developed with a 5,204-square foot residence) on property zoned conservation reserve and single family 5-acre in the mountains north of Highway 50 West.

The property is in the Skyline Restricted Area, according to city staff, and must meet hillside development standards.

Additionally, because a small portion of the existing access road (to be improved to city fire standards) runs through a conservation easement area managed by Carson City, the project will have to be presented to the Open Space Advisory Committee.

The conservation area is known as Horse Creek Ranch. For information go to carson.org/government/departments-g-z/parks-recreation-open-space/parks-and-places/parks-and-open-spaces/horse-creek-ranch.

• Commissioners unanimously approved a SUP for an outdoor storage facility for boats and RVs (plus three storage containers) across two parcels of limited industrial property at 2066 and 2088 S. Lompa Lane.

Conditions of approval require storage containers be earth-tone and the entire storage area be screened.

The approval also limited the number of RV and boat storage spaces to 29.

• Commissioners continued a hearing on a proposed planned unit development (PUD) consisting of 240 townhomes on 22 acres north and west of Morgan Mill Road.

The hearing was moved to April 30, when commissioners will consider an ordinance that would change the property from multifamily apartment and public regional zoning to multifamily PUD and establish a tentative subdivision map.