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Council tables downtown storage ordinance after residents and fire chief raise concerns; sewing business owner given time to open
Summary
The City Council postponed an ordinance that would declare first-floor storage on multistory downtown buildings a public nuisance after a tenant planning a sewing repair-and-instruction business and the fire chief raised concerns about targeting and fire risk.
The City Council postponed consideration of an ordinance that would declare storage uses on the first floor of multistory buildings in the downtown corridor a public nuisance, after public comment from a tenant who recently rented a downtown storefront and from the fire chief.
Why it matters: The ordinance, intended to encourage retail and reduce combustible storage visible from public rights-of-way, touches on property rights, downtown revitalization goals and public-safety code enforcement. The council delayed action to avoid unduly penalizing a new small business owner who said she is preparing to open and to allow staff and council to refine language.
Tenant and neighbors spoke at length. Linda Stavall Martin, who said she had rented Unit 104 since April 2021 and plans to run a sewing-machine service, repair and instruction business, described her progress preparing the space and told the council she expects to begin teaching classes Oct. 1. “I have 14 identical machines… I will be the only one within a 150-mile radius that knows how to fix a sewing machine,” she said during public comment.
Ray Reynolds, Nevada fire chief, said the department enforces the 2015 International Fire Code and that storage the department inspected in the space at one point was not orderly and posed exit and fuel-load concerns. “At the time we visited, it was not [orderly],” Reynolds said, and he noted that owners could retain storage if the building were sprinklered.
Council members discussed whether the proposed ordinance unduly targeted a single property and whether curtains and window treatments could address visibility concerns. Several councilmembers said they did not want to penalize someone who is actively working to open a business.
Formal action: Councilmember Luke moved to table the ordinance to the Nov. 10 meeting; the motion passed. Council took the same action on two related ordinances addressing first-floor storage in the downtown corridor and on a substantially similar ordinance; all were postponed to Nov. 10 to allow staff to refine language and for the tenant to continue preparing the space.
Ending: Council directed staff to continue working with the tenant and the building owner on fire-code compliance and to return with refined ordinance language on Nov. 10. The tenant said she planned to start classes on Oct. 1 and councilmembers and members of the public offered informal help with moving and window presentation advice.
