Planning commission backs 240-unit townhome planned-unit development off Morgan Mill with vegetation-management condition

The Carson City Planning Commission on April 30 voted to recommend the Board of Supervisors approve a planned-unit development (PUD) that would allow roughly 240 townhome units on a roughly 22.08-acre site northwest of Morgan Mill Road, subject to standard conditions of approval and an added vegetation-management requirement for the site’s natural open-space parcel.

Planner Heather Manzo described the application as a rezoning and tentative planned-unit development that would convert two parcels (one previously zoned multifamily and one zoned public regional) to a coordinated PUD and a phased tentative subdivision. The project proposes 240 townhome residences, a minimum lot size of about 985 square feet for the townhomes, approximately 8.17 acres of common area and roughly 39% overall open space (the PUD requirement is 30%). Manzo noted a portion of the site overlaps the capped landfill area addressed earlier in the overall Plateau project; the project will not disturb the landfill cap area and must be consistent with existing EPA-approved conditions for that capped area.

The applicant team (Wood Rodgers planner Stacy Huggins, KDH Builders’ Kent Hendricks and others) described product types and phasing. The developers said they plan to sell townhomes as owner-occupied units (not rental apartments) and estimated price ranges in the high-$300,000s to mid-$400,000s but noted market conditions will affect final pricing. The applicant confirmed the project will be delivered in phases and that essential infrastructure — roads, utilities, an acceleration/deceleration lane on Highway 50 and a traffic-signal-infrastructure plan — would be constructed as part of the project; staff and applicant said final activation of any traffic signal is governed by MUTCD warrant analysis and NDOT staging. Waste-collection, snow-storage and homeowner-association maintenance will be addressed at final map/site-improvement permit stage; the applicant said garages are sized to accommodate vehicles and trash totes.

Multiple residents from nearby neighborhoods spoke at the hearing expressing concerns about traffic volumes and speeds on Deer Run Road and other local streets, pedestrian safety, school capacity and snow removal. Staff and the city development engineer (Steven Pote) summarized that the traffic-impact analysis submitted with the application studied key intersections along Highway 50 and concluded the primary traffic distribution would use the Highway 50 connection rather than local roads to the south; the city engineer said the project includes traffic-signal infrastructure and that signal activation will follow warrant analysis.

Commissioners asked about trash collection, snow storage and long-term maintenance. The applicant said an HOA will manage trash and snow removal; Waste Management standards will be required at site-improvement permit review. Several commissioners asked for a required vegetation-management plan to ensure the undeveloped open-space area does not become a fire hazard; the chair added a condition requiring that plan prior to the first site-improvement permit. After discussion the commission recommended approval of the PUD with that added vegetation-management condition (condition 32) and the other staff conditions.

The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors for final action on the zoning amendment and tentative map; the project has phased timing and infrastructure requirements that will be enforced at the site-improvement and final-map stages.