Washoe County Board of Adjustment denies Sanctuary of God Church special-use permit after residents raise traffic, drainage and neighborhood-character concerns

The Washoe County Board of Adjustment denied a special-use permit request for the proposed Sanctuary of God Church (case WSUP250013) at its Oct. 2, 2025 hearing, citing unresolved traffic, drainage and neighborhood-character concerns.

Eric Young, senior planner with Washoe County Planning (read into the record by staff), described the request as an application to build a 15,000-square-foot, single-story religious assembly building on a five-acre parcel at the terminus of Rolling Ridge Road in the Golden Valley area of the North Valleys. Young said the conceptual plan showed roughly 9,000 square feet of assembly and support functions overall and a worship area used for trip-generation calculations of about 6,498 square feet; the project included a parking area listed in the application as 154 spaces and an estimated 18,000 cubic yards of grading. Young told the board the site would require hookups to the City of Reno water and sewer and additional ingress/egress work as conditions of approval.

Applicant Bob Cotter, president of Sierra Builders, and architect Jason Doerr of KRI Architecture said they revised exterior materials and the site layout following a neighborhood meeting. "We have absolutely no issues with any conditions — none whatsoever," Cotter told the board, adding the design team had adjusted siding, added windows on blank elevations and revised parking islands to meet code. Doerr said…