Planning commission approves Airgas request to replace 3,000‑gallon liquid nitrogen tank with 9,000‑gallon unit at 1671 Glendale Ave.

The Sparks Planning Commission on Feb. 20 approved a request from Airgas to amend a previous special use permit to allow installation of a 9,000‑gallon liquid nitrogen tank at 1671 Glendale Avenue.

Planning staff said the site, an approximately 2.23‑acre fuel distribution facility, currently stores bulk gases and distributes them to customers. The proposed 9,000‑gallon tank would replace an existing 3,000‑gallon tank and is intended to reduce the number of delivery trips to the site.

Staff member Colby, presenting the item, said the facility has operated since at least February 2010 and that the change requires an amendment to Special Use Permit SP09006 because of conditions tied to the original approval. Colby said staff analyzed visual impacts, landscaping and parking and recommended approval subject to seven conditions, including a revised condition requiring replacement of dead or dying trees and the planting of up to three additional trees where feasible based on a licensed landscape professional’s analysis.

Development Services Manager Scott Gary told commissioners he had followed up with Fire Marshal Pat Chu about hazardous‑material thresholds. Under the International Fire Code classification discussed, Scott Gary said liquid nitrogen is treated as an inert gas and that the regulatory threshold is 6,000 cubic feet. He said the 9,000‑gallon tank converts to roughly 1,200 cubic feet, well below that threshold, and that the facility is inspected annually and is part of the Fire Department’s target‑hazard inspection program.

Staff said the proposed tank would be about 39 feet tall — roughly 20 feet taller than the existing tank — and would be located behind the existing 22‑foot building, with about 275 feet of separation from Glendale Avenue and about 470 feet from Rock Boulevard. The existing 25,920‑square‑foot building includes roughly 800 square feet of office, 2,400 square feet of retail and 22,700 square feet of warehousing. Based on the mix of uses, staff calculated a requirement of 20 parking spaces and reported 29 existing spaces on site, an excess of nine.

Staff reported there are 15 trees on the site today — eight along the rear property line and seven at the front — and that, after working with the applicant, staff requested a total of 18 trees, adding up to three new trees if a licensed landscape professional confirms planting will not harm existing mature trees. Conditions require a final landscaping plan before building permits for the tank and ongoing landscape maintenance and replacement of any mature trees that die with comparable specimens.

Staff said public notice was sent to 50 property owners and published in the Reno‑Gazette Journal on Feb. 4 as prescribed by Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) and Sparks Municipal Code; no public comments were received as of the meeting.

Commissioner Kramer moved to approve Conditional Use Permit PCN09030/CU24‑0013 to amend SP09006 to allow installation of the 9,000‑gallon liquid nitrogen tank at 1671 Glendale Avenue, citing findings C‑1 through C‑5 and the staff report; Commissioner Elkins seconded. The commission took a voice vote and approved the permit unanimously.

The approval is subject to the seven conditions in the staff report, including the revised condition requiring tree replacement and up to three new trees if the landscape analysis supports planting.

No further public comment was received on the item at the hearing.