Reno City Council approves alley abandonment sought by Reno Housing Authority after hours of public comment

The Reno City Council on Aug. 13 voted to approve a requested abandonment of a 6,197-square-foot public alley in Midtown, clearing the way for the Reno Housing Authority (RHA) to merge the alley into parcels it owns on both sides of the right-of-way.

Council’s action followed a multi-hour public hearing that included a staff presentation, detailed questions from council members and more than a half-dozen neighborhood speakers who said the alley is an important neighborhood asset and raised concerns about parking, density and public safety.

City planning staff told the council the alley was dedicated to the city by tract map, that RHA now owns all directly affected parcels and that the alley contains utilities (telephone, electric, storm drain and sanitary sewer). Jeff Foster, associate planner, said public safety agencies had no objection and that staff’s required finding — that the public would not be materially injured by the abandonment — could be made.

RHA’s representative, JD Klippenstein, told the council the authority seeks the abandonment to allow a more usable project area and to provide flexibility to increase on-site amenities such as parking, which will make future financing…