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Commission approves master-plan and regulatory zone change at 700 Harper Court to correct split zoning and clarify residential status
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Summary
The Washoe County Commission unanimously approved a master-plan and regulatory zone amendment for 700 Harper Court to change a parcel split between conservation and residential zoning to a single residential designation, clearing a nonconforming status for an existing home.
The Washoe County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously Sept. 9 to adopt a master-plan amendment and a regulatory zone amendment for a 5.75-acre parcel at 700 Harper Court in the Tahoe planning area to resolve a split master-plan designation and regulatory zone that made an existing year-round residence nonconforming.
Senior planner Courtney Wyke told the commission the parcel currently contains two land-use designations: 1.12 acres classified as Incline Village residential and 4.64 acres classified as Mount Rose conservation. The existing single-family home is located in the portion of the parcel within the Mount Rose conservation designation, where year-round residences are not an allowed use type, making the home nonconforming.
The applicant requested the master-plan amendment to change the parcel to 100 percent residential (Incline Village 1 regulatory zone). Planner Wyke and the applicant—s representative said the change would not increase development potential because the parcel sits on TRPA land-capability class 1a, which restricts impervious coverage to 1 percent of the parcel area. The parcel already exceeds that coverage, and any rebuilding would remain constrained by TRPA rules.
Applicant representative J. Exline said the key motivation was practical: homeowners face fire insurance implications when year-round residential status is uncertain. Exline said the amendment would make the parcel—s land-use designation and regulatory zone uniform and reduce ambiguity for insurers and owners.
Wyke noted that TRPA staff flagged the bisected designation and had expressed informal support for correcting the map, while Washoe County planning commissioners held a public hearing Aug. 5 and unanimously recommended approval. The board voted to adopt the master-plan amendment and regulatory zone change and authorized the chair to sign the implementing resolution, subject to the TRPA review process required for Tahoe-area plan amendments.
Public comment had expressed concerns that the amendment could increase development potential, but staff and the applicant explained that TRPA coverage limits and land-capability constraints make additional development unlikely and that no new building rights would be created by the zoning change.
The change corrects an administrative inconsistency that planning staff said dates to older basin zoning and area-plan boundaries. The county will forward required documentation to TRPA as part of the amendment process.
