Regional planning commission fails to approve Stonegate Hines Ranch master plan amendment amid water, traffic and community concerns

The Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Commission on Aug. 4 failed to find the City of Reno's proposed Stonegate Hines Ranch master plan amendment in conformance with the 2019 Truckee Meadows Regional Plan, after a contentious public hearing in which residents, agency staff and applicants debated water, traffic, school impacts and public safety.

The commission voted on a motion to find the proposed master plan amendment in conformance and recorded a divided result; the motion did not reach the six affirmative votes required and therefore failed. The commission then agreed to continue related items to the next meeting.

The contested amendment would change land-use designations on about 1,767 acres in Cold Springs (north of U.S. Highway 395 and west of White Lake Parkway). Under the plan approved previously as a planned unit development (PUD), the site was authorized for roughly 5,000 dwelling units; the amendment under consideration would reduce that to about 1,350 dwelling units while increasing land designated for industrial uses to roughly half the site and preserving about 400 acres of parks, greenways and open space.

Why it matters: community members and local officials said the change would replace promised housing and community amenities with large-scale industrial development that could bring heavy truck traffic, higher electricity and water demand, and erosion of promised public infrastructure such as a fire station. City and applicant presenters said the amendment would reduce projected water, sewage and traffic impacts compared with the currently approved PUD and would add regional employment opportunities, but many commissioners and residents said outstanding studies and existing service agreements must be resolved before the commission could make the required regional conformance findings.

City and applicant presentations Jeremy Smith, senior planner for TMRPA (Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency), opened the regional conformance portion of the hearing and reminded commissioners that their legal purview is limited: the commission was asked to decide whether the master plan amendment and the project-of-regional-significance determination for employment conform with the regional plan, not to approve specific development types or building permits. Smith said staff analysis shows the amendment would reduce the site's water demand from the PUD's previously forecasted 2,500 acre-feet per year to roughly 1,000 acre-feet; similarly, trip generation was shown in staff materials to decline from about…