Commissioners Continue Greenlink Transmission Permit After Landowner Concerns

The Storey County Board of County Commissioners voted to continue consideration of Special Use Permit 2026-029 for the Greenlink Nevada transmission corridors to the Aug. 4 meeting after residents and property owners urged more time for impact study and clearer easement and mitigation plans.

Planning Manager Kathy Canfield and Charles Hutchinson, permitting manager with WSP representing NV Energy, presented the project and the conditions in the SUP addressing reclamation and property-owner authorization for access. Residents and landowner representatives raised objections. Jackson Crawford of Womble Bond Dickinson, representing Sunny Hills Ranchos, opposed the application on grounds raised in written correspondence presented to the board. Resident Joe Charmasson asked for a delay "to delay, table or postpone any action on this item until members of the community can be properly informed," saying he saw "glaring omissions" including no county-level impact reports within Storey County and no granular construction routing.

Sunny Hills' submitted legal correspondence argued the SUP was incomplete because NV Energy had not provided signed property-owner affidavits required by county code and warned of constitutional takings risks if approvals were issued before property authorizations were secured. County staff noted the SUP application had been deemed complete for hearing but acknowledged NV Energy did not yet have easements or written permission from all impacted owners. Commissioner Clay Mitchell said he preferred to continue the application to allow staff and the applicant time to address resident concerns; the board approved the continuance 3-0.

The project's appendix materials included NEPA and permitting timelines, photo simulations and a large volume of correspondence between NV Energy (and its right-of-way contractor Contract Land Staff) and affected landowners, including Sunny Hills Ranchos. Materials in the record highlight landowner requests for route alternatives, on-the-ground photo simulations from residences nearer to proposed routes, and mitigation plans for access roads and protection of cultural resources such as the Lagomarsino petroglyphs. The board did not vote to approve the SUP and set the item for further consideration.

Next steps: the board will revisit the SUP at its Aug. 4 meeting; staff and the applicant indicated they will work to address the concerns raised about property-owner authorization, routing detail, and mitigation commitments.