DAYTON - A substantially scaled-down residential development proposal for the Rolling "A" Ranch has earned county approval.
Lyon County commissioners last week approved a parcel map creating 160 residential lots on about 62 acres. The project is south of Highway 50 in the northwest portion of ranch property. Project engineers said each lot exceeds the 12,000-square-foot allowed minimum.
Chris Stevens, of Thiel Engineering which represents ranch owners, said the main access to the property will be opposite Occidental Drive. A second access will allow direct traffic from the subdivision onto Cardelli Road.
Originally proposed as a unit development, developers planned high density, clustered zoning on 436 acres of a 900-acre parcel, leaving the remaining portion as a green belt along the Carson River. Plans were revised when local residents opposed the high density 6,000- and 9,000-square-foot lots and questioned future impacts of the development on adjacent roads.
More than 50 residents had submitted concerns about vehicle traffic on Highway 50 be addressed before approval of the project and that no direct access be made to Cardelli and River roads from the interior of the subdivision.
"Highway 50 traffic makes access difficult during rush hour now. This must be dealt with as development continues," River Road resident Don Dallas said. "River Road has five blind turns and is very narrow with severe drop-offs to the river. Public safety is a major concern on River Road."
Stevens said a traffic projection for the project shows only 1 percent to 2 percent of resulting traffic will use River Road as a main access and did not feel it would become a problem.
Suggested improvements to River Road included installing guard rails where the road borders the river. Commissioners said the road department is currently working on bank stabilization in the area.
The project is expected to take four to five years to build.