Reno staff seek input on proposed nonprofit registration; community urges no fees

City of Reno licensing staff on June 11 asked nonprofit leaders and residents for input on whether the city should require organizations to register, whether registration should carry fees or inspections, and how the city should protect confidential information.

"We're just gathering feedback," Lance Verrado, director of licensing and code enforcement, said at the opening of the virtual meeting. He told participants the council requested a presentation on April 23 and later directed staff to conduct community outreach; staff will compile survey responses and return a staff report and draft language to council, likely in January.

Verrado said the review was driven by two recurring concerns: planning and zoning conflicts when nonprofit uses locate next to incompatible uses, and public-safety gaps when nonprofits occupy existing buildings that would not otherwise trigger building, health or fire inspections. He told attendees the city believes there are roughly 2,000 nonprofits in Reno but only 317 appear on the city’s voluntary registry.

Nonprofit leaders who spoke during the public-comment period argued against fees and urged the city to rely on existing data partnerships. "We're a nonprofit. We're not a business," said Iris Jaley Pappard, executive director of 1 Tricky River, opposing the idea of requiring a business license. Jeff Brank of the Center for Nonprofit Business said many local nonprofits lack physical space and noted IRS Form 990 filings are publicly available; he said the city could use those datasets or partner with local organizations instead of imposing a new fee-based system.

Several speakers offered practical concerns about implementation. Marie Krueger of Reno Sparks Gospel Mission pointed out that faith-based nonprofits are not required to file Form 990, so IRS data would be incomplete. Cheyenne Sautter, a local property owner, said landlord responsibilities for permitting and safety make owner-level oversight a logical place to address building safety rather than a tenant-focused registry. "When you're in a lease situation as a nonprofit, that responsibility doesn't fall on the nonprofit," she said.

Some nonprofit leaders said they would support a non-fee registration that improves the city’s situational awareness. "If that's the main driver here that it would be registration with no fees," said Sean Hill, CEO of Sierra Nevada Journeys, "I think tacking on fees to nonprofits who are trying to uplift the community could be detrimental to budgets." Mike Worm of the Boys & Girls Club said he would not oppose registration if it was not intended to generate revenue but warned that scaled fees based on size or multiple sites could become a barrier.

Verrado closed by asking attendees to complete an online survey and offering a written-comment email (blcode@reno.gov) and the business-licensing webpage (reno.gov/businesslicensing). He said staff will summarize the survey and comments in a staff report to council and will notify stakeholders when the item is scheduled for council consideration.