Advisory board turns down Silver Springs development

SILVER SPRINGS - A 697-residence development has been rejected by the Silver Springs Regional Advisory Board, which voted 4-1 not to recommend the plan to the Lyon County Planning Commission.

Board members and residents criticized the density of the project, which allows for 5,000-square-foot lots in the mostly rural community.

Board chairman Pat Geurts said the project was not compatible with the area's master plan, and member Toni Anderson said she didn't want anything smaller than three-acre lots.

Rick Zierenberg, the county's code enforcement officer and a Silver Springs resident, objected to the density and the impact on the sheriff's office, fire department and schools.

"I want development here. I just think this is too much, he said. "We should at least stick to our master plan."

George Peek, owner of ERGS Inc. and developer of the project, defended his plan as what people who purchase homes want and need. He said he still plans to take it to the Lyon County Planning Commission on Tuesday.

"I've got the land and I've got the water," he said. "I'm not trying to be threatening, but I'm a businessman and I'm not doing anything unless I can make a buck out of it."

Peek said homebuyers are looking for smaller lots.

"This is the kind of property people can take care of, and what people want for the lifestyle or they wouldn't be buying them," he said, adding that larger lots often end up covered with weeds, junk and dust.

Stacy Huggins of Wood Rodgers, a Reno-based engineering firm, said lots would range from 5,000 to 27,000 square feet in the phased development, with an average size of 9,252 square feet. She said homes would be a mix of one- and two-story structures.

Peek is requesting a change in Silver Springs' master plan from low-density residential to high-density residential for the area of the development, about 280 acres bordering Topaz and Onyx streets.

He also requested a zone change from a five-acre minimum lot size to a 5,000 square foot minimum lot size.

Zierenberg and Anderson also expressed concern about water usage.

"The water levels here are dropping," Zierenberg said. "It's about time we start addressing this before it smacks us in the face."

Peek said more water is used on larger lots.

"I've been in water all my life," Peek said. "Where water is used is in the yard."

Utilities will be available for the development, according to the Silver Springs GID and the Silver Springs Mutual Water Co., which Peek owns, and the developer will provide another water tank. Huggins said the existing tank can serve 350-400 residents.

Peek said he anticipated objections to the development, though not the 4-1 vote, and remains committed to the project.

"People say they want things like shopping and other services, like medical," he said. "Those are all businesses, including the medical. The only way you're going to get those is to have a population base so these people can make a living."

-- Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111 ext. 351.

If you go

WHAT: Lyon County Planning Commission meeting

WHEN: 9 a.m. Tuesday

WHERE: 27 S. Main St., Yerington

CALL: (775) 463-6531

Villages at Silver Springs

Proposed number of lots and minimum lot size.

Village I - 137 lots, 5,000 square feet minimum.

Village II - 162 lots, 5,000 square feet minimum.

Village III - 68 lots, 5,000 square feet minimum.

Village IV - 102 lots, $6,000 square feet minimum

Village V - 152 lots, 7,000 square feet minimum

Village VI - 78 lots, 6,000 square feet minimum.