Planning Commission will review Carson City zoning laws

To access Carson City’s zoning map and review land use throughout the city, visit https://www.carson.org/government/departments-a-f/assessor/gis-public-site, follow the ‘Parcel Maps and Data’ link, and use the ‘Themes’ menu in the top right corner to toggle ‘Current Zoning.’

By Faith Evans

Sunday, November 14, 2021

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The Planning Commission is getting into the zone next week – the zoning ordinances, that is. It will meet Tuesday to review Title 18 of the Carson City Municipal Code.
The laws outlined in Title 18, a.k.a. the zoning ordinances, answer two questions: how can developers use each parcel of land in the city, and what building criteria do those developers need to follow?
Some of Title 18’s sections that the commission will be reviewing include accessory building regulations, signage regulations, and the formatting of the zoning districts section, among other less substantial edits.
The signage review will bring the code into compliance with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that sign regulations must be “content neutral.” Laws are not allowed to dictate the message that appears on a sign, only the size, lighting, location, and other non-content-based attributes of signs.
As for the zoning districts section, it will now be formatted as a table for easy reading, rather than a long list of allowed buildings in each zoning district.
According to Community Development Director Hope Sullivan, the upcoming meeting marks the perfect time for residents to raise concerns about development regulations.
“Anyone who thinks that the zoning ordinance has sections that need to get addressed and fixed, this is what the Planning Commission is going to be doing in November,” she told the Appeal over the phone.
Sullivan used Carson Valley Meat’s proposed slaughterhouse along Highway 50 as an example. Lots of folks who participated in public comment time expressed concerns about noise, odor, and more. If the city saw enough interest, it could hypothetically adopt an ordinance requiring that all slaughterhouses operate entirely indoors, or something similar.
Many of the issues that residents bring up when new developments come to town could be preemptively addressed now, at their heart: the zoning code.
Alongside the Title 18 edits, the commission will also consider three zoning map amendments, one of which will switch homes along Lepire Drive, Cassidy Court, and Etta Place from “General Commercial” to “Multi Family Apartments” to align with the land’s current usage.
The Title 18 changes and zoning map amendments will lead up to a Master Plan Review through December and January. The city’s Master Plan outlines its long-term plans for land, and zoning ordinances allows the city to implement those plans.
For details on each agenda item, visit www.carson.org and use the “Government” tab to navigate to “Agendas.” The Planning Commission’s agenda and supporting materials are included in the links on the page.
The meeting will be held on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in the Robert “Bob” Crowell Board Room of the Community Center on 851 E. William St.
All are welcome to attend in-person to comment on agenda items or submit written public comment in advance to planning@carson.org. Written public comment may also be mailed to 108 E. Proctor St. All public comment must be received by 3 p.m. the day before the meeting for inclusion in the meeting minutes.
To stream the meeting live, visit www.carson.org/granicus and scroll down to find the “In Progress” link to the video during the meeting.

Planning Commission will review Carson City zoning laws

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