The Reno City Planning Commission on Jan. 7 recommended that the city council approve a zoning map amendment for 386 Holcomb, forwarding a staff proposal to change the parcel from Professional Office (PO) to Mixed Use Downtown Riverwalk District (MDRD) and to remove the Wells Avenue Neighborhood Planning Area overlay.

Jeff Foster, associate planner, told commissioners the 0.17-acre site at the northeast corner of Holcomb Avenue and Stewart Street is developed with a roughly 5,000-square-foot former credit-union building and that rezoning to MDRD would bring the parcel into conformance with the citywide master plan. Foster said MDRD is intended to support higher-density, mixed uses and noted the zone’s minimum density of 21 units per acre and a range of residential, employment and retail uses. He also identified which uses would require a minor or full conditional use permit.

Ryan Mix, the property owner and a local real estate developer, said he plans to convert the building to eight multifamily units — four one-bedroom and four two-bedroom units — with modern amenities and about 10 off-street parking spaces.

Commissioners asked staff to clarify whether future nonresidential uses adjacent to residences would trigger a site plan review. Foster corrected an earlier staff-report statement, explaining that the MDRD district contains an exception that eliminates the minor site-plan-review requirement for certain nonresidential development adjacent to residential uses; Foster said some specific uses highlighted in staff materials would still require a minor or full conditional use permit.

During deliberations, commissioners cited the benefits of bringing the site into master-plan conformance, neighborhood coordination and infill redevelopment. Commissioner Manny Becerra said aligning zoning with the master plan and setting appropriate guardrails supported a recommendation; Commissioner Rohrmeyer and Commissioner Delvier voiced support while noting parking would be addressed in later project-level reviews.

Commissioner Jacob Williams moved to recommend that council approve the zoning map amendment and remove the Wells Avenue overlay for the site (case LDC26-25). The motion was seconded and carried unanimously.

The Planning Commission’s recommendation is advisory; the item will next be considered by Reno City Council. The staff presentation identified the applicable findings and listed which future uses would require further review at the conditional-use or building-permit stage.