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Reno council pauses land auctions, directs staff to prepare RFPs for three city parcels
Summary
After debate over control of redevelopment outcomes, Reno City Council voted to take no action on three proposed property auctions and instructed staff to issue requests for proposals so the city can set development parameters and aim for outcomes such as affordable housing, rather than selling at auction.
Vice Mayor Martinez and council members spent more than an hour probing staff about a package of three city-owned parcels that had been scheduled for auction. Council members raised concerns that auctioning the sites would forfeit the city's ability to require specific types of development — for example, affordable housing or defined timelines for construction — on properties located inside or adjacent to redevelopment agency (RDA) boundaries.
Ashley Tierney, assistant city attorney/city manager staff, told the council the choice is explicit: auctions generally maximize price but remove the city's leverage to impose economic-development terms; an RFP or unsolicited letter-of-interest process allows the city to require development within a set timeframe, include clawbacks, or prioritize uses the council wants. Tierney also confirmed that the parcels under discussion currently have long-standing tenants with active leases, and that any new owner would need to honor those leases.
Council members repeatedly framed the choice as one between short-term revenue and long-term control. "If you proceed with auction of these properties, then you do not have control over the economic development purposes of what these properties can be used for later," Tierney said. Councilmembers pressed staff on alternatives, including giving the RDA the option to buy specific parcels to preserve more flexible use of funds.
After discussion, council voted to take no action on items B10, B11 and B12 today and directed staff to develop draft RFPs for each property and return to the council with those drafts for review before they are issued. Staff said the RFPs will be structured to allow the body to include development preferences (for instance, affordable housing) and that parcels will be noticed to neighborhood advisory boards and the public as required.
Councilmembers also asked staff to continue evaluating leases and market rates for city-owned properties and to present an annual property plan in February that would identify opportunities to move properties to market rent, pursue sales, or pursue RDA purchases where appropriate. No sale is scheduled to close today, and staff emphasized the city will not be fronting acquisition costs for buyers; if the RDA purchases parcels, it would be as a separate, future decision.
