Planning Commission rejects Silver Springs development

George Peek, owner of ERGS Inc. and developer of a proposed 697-residence unit development in Silver Springs said he won't give up, despite the second rejection of his project.

"We will keep pursuing it," he said. "It's time for change in Silver Springs."

The Lyon County Planning Commission rejected on a 4-1 vote his request to amend the master plan from low density to high density on a 250-acre parcel between Topaz and Onyx streets where The Villages of Silver Springs was planned. The commission also rejected changing the zoning from RR-3, a five-acre minimum lot size; to NR-1, or a 5,000-square-foot lot size; and rejected a tentative map of the project.

The Silver Springs Regional Advisory Council earlier this month rejected the requested master plan and zoning changes.

The Lyon County Board of Commissioners will consider the proposal on Jan. 19.

The four planning commissioners opposed to the project said the new master plan should be completed before the changes take place.

"I don't think it's a fit," said Chuck Roberts, chairman of the commission. "We should wait until the master plan is updated."

Commissioner Ray Johnson, who lives in Silver Springs, dissented.

"I think we have a chance to do it right in Silver Springs," he said. "Development is not going to go away."

Steve Hasson, Lyon County planning director, said the current master plan was 15 years old, and a new one, for which the county will hire a new planner, is still a long way off. Silver Springs also hasn't finished its own regional master plan.

"These are the pioneers," he said, indicating the developer. "My planning philosophy is 'trespass lightly against market forces.'"

He added that an 8,000-lot development is being planned near Peek's villages, and that Silver Springs was going to grow one way or another.

"Times are changing, and sooner or later something is going to come forward," he said. "One day you will see 50,000 people living in Silver Springs."

Peek defended his project as the wave of the future.

"Large lots are not an efficient use of land resources and use more water," he said. "The size of homes have grown."

Melissa Lindell, a planner with Wood Rodgers, a Reno-based engineering firm, said Peek had extensive land holdings in the area and was looking at spots for commercial, industrial and residential development. She said the 250-acre parcel was the best location for high-density residential development.

"You need to look into the future," she said. "This is an opportunity for Silver Springs to have a different type of community with job opportunities."

About a half-dozen residents spoke, evenly split between those opposing and those approving of the development.

"You can tell this community is pretty evenly divided," Hasson said. "So whatever you do is going to be wrong."

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

If you go

WHAT: Lyon County Commission meeting

WHEN: 9 a.m. Jan. 19

WHERE: 27 S. Main St.,

Yerington

CALL: (775) 463-6531