Commission forwards DeAndrea handbook amendment to council to allow indoor animal services and financial institutions

The Sparks Planning Commission voted unanimously to forward to the City Council a recommendation to amend the DeAndrea Development Standards Handbook to allow indoor animal services and to clarify that financial institutions and automated teller machines are permitted in the DeAndrea commercial land‑use designation.

Planner Kobe Gallano told commissioners the amendment would apply only to the two commercial shopping centers within the 861‑acre DeAndrea plan development — DeAndrea Pointe and DeAndrea Marketplace — and would not expand the commercial acreage. The proposed handbook changes add definitions that limit animal services to indoor operations for domestic household pets and require that overnight boarding exceed 17 hours only with conditional use permit review. Staff said outdoor exercise or containment areas are not part of this request because both centers adjoin residential uses and code limits outdoor animal exercise areas where residences are nearby.

Gallano explained that a previous 2007 handbook amendment had allowed banks and similar financial institutions, and a 2008 handbook update inadvertently omitted that permitted use from the commercial section. The current request restores financial institutions and ATMs so the previously constructed bank is clearly contemplated by the handbook.

The amendment would align the D'Andrea commercial use list with allowed uses in the city's C‑1 neighborhood commercial zoning, Gallano said. Staff mailed 2,535 notices to property owners inside the DeAndrea plan boundary and to properties within 750 feet as required; the notice also ran in the Reno Gazette Journal. As of the noon cutoff staff had received nine requests for additional information and no letters formally opposing the amendment.

Chris Wagner, representing Kimco (the owner of the two shopping centers), said the primary impetus for the amendment was an interested pet‑grooming tenant and that Kimco supported the proposed language. A public question about the large noticing area was answered by staff: the large yellow area shown in meeting materials reflects the entire DeAndrea plan boundary plus the required 750‑foot notification buffer (which includes some Bureau of Land Management land), and that full notice area was required by statute for this kind of planned‑development amendment.

Commissioner Pritzl moved to forward a recommendation of approval to the City Council for the handbook amendment (PCN 18‑0040 / PD24‑0006) based on findings PDA through PDJ and the staff report; Commissioner Kramer seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Staff said it anticipates the first reading before City Council on June 23 and a second reading on July 14.