A divided Planning Commission voted to recommend the initial plan for a new subdivision on Lompa Ranch, south of 5th Street.
The proposed project would be located on 26.89 acres at the east end of Railroad Drive and Saliman Road and includes 103-home lots ranging from 6,000 square feet to 15,803 square feet.
The commission voted 4-2 to recommend the project’s tentative map to the Board of Supervisors for approval. Commissioners Paul Esswein and Hope Tingle voted no and member Alex Dawers was absent.
Both dissenting commissioners voiced concerns about the property.
“It is not good policy to build in floodplains,” said Esswein, who asked if it had been determined whether wetlands were present.
A condition requiring the developer to work with and abide by the recommendations of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was added to the plan’s conditions of approval.
Presentation of the project’s tentative map was postponed earlier while the developer worked with members of the Lompa family to secure the needed right of way to build a road connecting the project to 5th Street, a major concern of homeowners on adjacent land.
But half a dozen neighbors spoke during public comment on Wednesday with other issues.
The biggest concern was noise. The project property is located just west of I-580.
“All I’m asking is this matter be continued or denied until a proper study and proposed mitigation done,” said Lee Harter, a nearby resident who had sent the commission research on the adverse health effects of noise.
Hope Sullivan, planning manager, said it was up to the developer to mitigate the noise through building materials or design, but recommended that the city not include it as a condition of approval.
Michael Railey, partner, Rubicon Design Group, representing Blackstone Development Group, said there would be disclosures about the noise for potential homebuyers and construction could include such things as three-paned windows to mitigate the noise, although he did not specify which materials or methods the developer plans to use.
Lee Plemel, director, Community Development, said the item will go to the supervisors July 18.
The commission also met as the Growth Management Commission to make its annual recommendation for building permit limits to the Board of Supervisors.
Commissioner Tingle raised concerns about the impact of growth on schools, healthcare availability, housing affordability, and roads.
No one representing the Carson City School District was present, but the school district did provide written comment, which said schools are nearly at capacity and that it was confident in the city’s ability to manage growth, although the spike in 2018 permits was concerning.
Building permits issued in 2018 exceeded the recent high in 1996. For the first time, the majority, or at least two-thirds, were for multifamily units, due in large part to the Carson Hills Apartment project, which pulled 370 permits in 2018.
Carson City Health and Human Services also submitted comment, and did not recommend reducing the permit limit, and staff requested comment from Carson Tahoe Health but did not receive any.
The commission voted to recommend the supervisors set the 2020 building permit limit at 679, 20 more than in 2018, and allocated 292 to general property owners and 387 to developers.
The recommended average daily water usage threshold for commercial and industrial users remained the same at 15,000 gallons per day.
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