Reno Planning Commission denies North Valleys data center, approves downtown Keystone data center amid public concern over water and energy

The Reno Planning Commission on Jan. 15 denied a conditional use permit (CUP) for a proposed Oppaden data center in the North Valleys and approved a separate CUP for a Centra interconnection data center at 265 Keystone Avenue. Commissioners split on whether the projects meet municipal standards for compatibility, public services and long-term public welfare.

The commission's denial of the Oppaden proposal followed public comments from conservation groups and residents emphasizing data centers’ unique demands for electricity, water and sewer capacity. Olivia Tanager, executive director of the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter, said she appealed the commission's earlier approval of a web data center and urged caution: "Data centers require an extreme amount of both energy and water by several times more than a standard warehouse," she told commissioners during the meeting's public comment period.

The commission later approved Centra’s Keystone project, a two‑story, 91,000‑square‑foot interconnection facility that Centra and its consultants described as an "interconnection" center that will host fiber and telecom carriers and serve local businesses. Centra CEO Chris Wiesler said the project would use minimal water because it relies on air‑based cooling and that the company will install on‑site rooftop solar and EV charging infrastructure as part of its sustainability commitments.

Why it matters

Both proposals were evaluated under the Reno municipal code's CUP standards and the city's master plan policies. Opponents argued that approving large, resource‑intensive facilities while the city and region are still finalizing policy for data centers risks straining water and power systems and shifting costs to ratepayers. Supporters and the applicants said the projects bring investment, jobs and infrastructure upgrades and that some sites are more suitable for data centers than other industrial uses that could occur on those parcels.

What the commission heard and decided

Public commenters — including residents, local environmental advocates and an architect who said Reno should demand energy neutrality — urged moratoria or stricter city rules on data centers until city council or utilities complete broader planning. Olivia Tanager (Sierra Club) raised concerns about the Swan Lake sewer basin and said the Oppaden project would generate "a substantial amount" of wastewater discharge. Several speakers urged commissioners to require self‑generation of renewable energy and battery storage to reduce grid impacts.

Staff presentations described each project’s site design, noise and lighting mitigation, and requested conditions. Jeff Foster, the city’s associate planner, told commissioners that data centers are now a defined use in the municipal code and that both proposals meet zoning criteria for conditional use permits subject to conditions. For Oppaden, Foster noted a generator yard, proposed acoustic mitigation and that the nearest residentially zoned property was about 1,400 feet away; applicants proposed a staged build‑out and phasing for power and water use.

Oppaden (North Valleys) — denied

- Applicant: Oppenet Investment Company (presented by Dylan Rusk) - Scope: 60,000 sq. ft.; initially described as 5 MW critical IT load with phased growth to 8.2 MW total (applicant materials list 8.2 MW total request / 9.2 kVA in some documents) - Water use cited in hearing: ~7 acre‑feet per year (applicant confirmation during questioning) - Staff conditions proposed: limits on truck arrivals, noise and generator testing, screening and landscape mitigation, and a 36‑month extension window for permits tied to wastewater and utility coordination - Commission vote (CUP LDC25‑0022): motion to approve failed on roll call (Commissioners Becerra: No; Delviar: No; Romyer: No; Villanueva: No; other commissioners voted in favor on the motion but the motion did not carry). Outcome: denied. The transcript records concerns from several commissioners about finding 4 (public services and facilities) and the project’s impact on regional resources.

Keystone (downtown) — approved

- Applicant: Centra (presented by Chris Wiesler and Josh Hindow) - Scope: 91,000 sq. ft., two stories, 6.67 MW total power capacity; day‑one use estimated at 3 MW; Centra presented the project as an interconnection hub that will not use evaporative (water‑intensive) cooling - Water use represented: company stated it will use "almost no water" beyond domestic fixtures; city counsel recorded project domestic demand as roughly 1.8 acre‑feet versus 7 acre‑feet for the Oppaden project - Sustainability commitments presented: rooftop photovoltaic system (applicant offered to install as a condition), EV‑ready conduit and level‑2 chargers, low‑flow fixtures, low‑VOC materials, construction waste diversion, and a smoke‑detection fire‑suppression design intended to reduce firefighting water demand - Staff conditions proposed: noise mitigation to reduce impact below existing ambient nighttime levels, limits on truck movement times, generator testing restrictions, security fencing and landscape screening - Commission vote (CUP LDC25‑0026): motion to approve passed (roll call: Becerra: Yes; Delviar: No; Romyer: Yes; Villanueva: No; Draculich: Yes). Outcome: approved.

Commissioners’ reasoning and record

Commissioners who voted to deny Oppaden cited uncertainties about water and sewer capacity in the North Valleys basin and questioned whether the project’s impacts could be distinguished from other allowed industrial uses that could be built by right on the same parcels. Commissioners who voted to approve Keystone emphasized the differences in cooling technology and site design — the Keystone proposal used air cooling (no evaporative water cooling) — and pointed to Centra’s rooftop solar commitment, noise mitigation, and the site’s history as an underutilized downtown parcel in need of redevelopment.

What remains unresolved

Several commissioners and many public commenters asked city council and staff for clearer, binding standards for data centers, including: (1) thresholds for when projects require more rigorous utility planning review; (2) standard sustainability conditions (solar, battery storage, limits on water‑intensive cooling); and (3) clearer notice and appeal procedures for administrative interpretations that classify new use types. Staff said city council recently adopted Title 18 text updates incorporating data center standards and that staff would bring utility partners and NV Energy to future meetings for briefings. Commissioner suggestions included a formal resolution from the commission asking council for an expedited city‑level policy review.

Quotes from the meeting

"I appealed the decision this body made to approve the CUP for the web data center in December... Data centers require an extreme amount of both energy and water by several times more than a standard warehouse," said Olivia Tanager, executive director of the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter.

"We have a waterless cooling system so we're not using any water," said Josh Hindow of Kimley‑Horn on behalf of Centra during the Keystone presentation.

"I encourage the commission to delay the approval of any new data centers until the city has finalized an ordinance governing data centers," said Barry Levinson, a volunteer with Sierra Club, during public comment earlier in the meeting.

Ending

Both projects remain subject to appeal to Reno City Council. Staff and several commissioners signaled they will request presentations from NV Energy and the regional integrated resource planning partners, and several commissioners proposed asking council to develop more explicit, citywide guidance before more large data‑center proposals move forward. The commission’s split votes reflected an unsettled balance between downtown redevelopment goals and regional resource planning concerns.