Reno council delays decision on massive Cold Springs housing development

The Reno City Council opted to put off a decision for another 30 days on a massive housing development proposed in Cold Springs that would strain existing city services.

The developers of Stonegate are proposing to build 5,000 housing units on land south of U.S. 395 in Cold Springs. The development would also include 1.2 million square feet of commercial and industrial space, two elementary schools and a high school.

Reno Councilman Paul McKenzie said the city needs more time to negotiate with developers over how to mitigate impacts to an already over-taxed freeway system between the North Valleys and the center of town, where to place and how to pay for the parks in the development and plans to use effluent water for landscape irrigation in the project.

"The impacts on the community of this development are far reaching and we need to make sure we are going to mitigate those impacts," McKenzie said.

Councilman Oscar Delgado echoed McKenzie's sentiment saying the city needs time to make sure the development is built as well as possible.

But Councilwoman Jenny Brekhus objected to the delay, the council's second postponement, saying more time simply benefits the developer at the expense of resident concerns. She argued it's too early to be arguing over where to locate a park. Rather, the council should judge whether the development as a whole is right for the community according to the master plan.

"Once again we are stringing things along to advantage one person rather than the folks who have broader concerns," Brekhus said.

Brekhus asked staff to spend the next month building the council a "legally defensible position of denial."

The project has been 20 months in the making, having gone before the Reno Planning Commission three times. It is also heavily lobbied by some of the state's largest power brokers, including lobbyists Greg Ferraro and John Griffin. The pair had conversations with individual council members up to the minute the hearing began Wednesday evening.

The project would be built over the next 20 years and would be required to coincide with the expansion of the Spaghetti Bowl and other improvements to U.S. Highway 395. The Spaghetti Bowl expansion project is under review by federal environmental authorities. No timeline has been established for construction and no funding as been identified.

The developer, Heinz Ranch Land Co., also is contemplating a commuter rail line connecting the North Valleys to downtown. No such project is underway yet. Staff noted the developer has not provided any plans to reduce the amount of traffic from the development or any public transit options.

The city and the developer did reach a conceptual agreement on a public safety facility. Under the agreement, the developer would build a temporary fire station, which would also house a police substation. Once the project is further along, a permanent public safety facility would be built.

The question remains, however, whether the city would be able to staff that station. It currently cannot fully staff two of its existing stations. The Reno Firefighters Association also expressed concern that a full four-person engine would not be able to reach Stonegate within "current accepted response times" until the permanent station is built.

"As a result of the economic downturn the RFD staffing is well below optimal levels," Reno Fire Chief Dave Cochran told the Reno Gazette Journal. "We will need to increase department staffing in order meet the needs of a new station in Stonegate or anywhere else."

The developer paid for a fiscal analysis that determined Stonegate would generate $168 million in revenue over 20 years, but would cost the city of Reno $162 million. Reno staff who reviewed that analysis, however, said the study inflates the expected revenue generated by the project. City staff said the project would result in a funding deficit within 10 years.