The Washoe County Board of Adjustment on July 3 approved a special‑use permit (WSUP25‑0010) for BlackRock Rentals and Storage, allowing storage of operable vehicles, construction sales and services, and equipment repair and sales on a roughly 5‑acre property adjacent to State Route 447 in Empire, Nevada. The board’s approval includes conditions that require an art‑based screening plan along the highway frontage and gives the applicant a limited period to complete the artwork.

Senior planner Eric Young told the board the property is in the High Desert planning area, zoned General Commercial, and fronts a 200‑foot right of way along SR‑447. Staff and the applicant said traditional landscaping and berm options are impractical: there is no commercial water or community sewer available on the site, species selection and maintenance are difficult in the high‑desert environment, and wind and sun make landscape screens and chain‑link with slats unreliable. Young said the proposed alternative — painted cargo containers and other artistic elements such as art cars and murals — would provide a durable, locally appropriate screen and contribute to the “sense of place” language in the High Desert area plan. Staff proposed a condition allowing temporary earth‑tone painted containers for up to one year while permanent murals are commissioned.

Applicant representatives and the property owner described an incremental approach. Dave Snellgrove, planning manager with Bowman Consulting, said the site has been cleaned up and the plan includes orderly drive aisles, multiple access points and a small office structure to meet the county’s requirement that a primary use exist on the parcel. Owner Keith DeForest said the business supports seasonal events (including Burning Man) and year‑round local needs; he said the business stores customers’ trailers, RVs and art vehicles and rents dumpsters and equipment. DeForest and neighbors said continued operation through the Burning Man season is economically critical and that the community supports the proposed screening and cleanup.

Public comment from Gerlach and Empire residents was uniformly supportive, and staff reported one additional public comment in the staff packet. Agencies reviewed the proposal; staff recommended approval with conditions and suggested a one‑year timeline for full mural completion, during which painted but non‑mural containers would be acceptable to avoid forcing interruption of seasonal operations. The conditions require orderly placement of stored materials, compliance with fire and access requirements, and that the screening be completed within the agreed period; the county indicated business license renewal would be withheld until the site conforms with the approved screening plan.

Board member Peter Gushon moved to approve the SUP with conditions (including the slide‑16 condition providing a time frame to complete murals); Leo Harishni seconded. The board voted to approve the special‑use permit. The motion and conditions as recorded direct staff to monitor compliance and to use the business‑license renewal process as an enforcement mechanism if the screening is not completed within the required period.

The decision permits the owner to continue and regularize the existing storage and rental operations while the applicant completes the approved screening and other conditions. Staff noted several conditions in the packet addressing fire water, septic, access approvals from NDOT and other agencies; the applicant said two 3,000‑gallon tanks and an existing septic system are part of the plan to meet health and fire needs.