Northern Nevada Community Housing is planning 126 units on two parcels straddling the intersection of Northridge Drive and North Roop Street.
Northern Nevada Community Housing is planning a 126-unit multifamily development at the intersection of Northridge Drive and North Roop Street. The apartments, called Eagle’s Landing, are part of an affordable housing project for Carson City veterans.
The Planning Commission approved a special use permit April 27 for NNCH’s site plans with an added condition. The developers will need to amend the traffic impact study to account for sight distance for cars entering and exiting the parking lot. NNCH will need to construct any necessary mitigations to help prevent wrecks.
Commissioners were worried the project layout could lead to wrecks along Roop Street, particularly where cars turn in and out of the parking lot at the bottom of a hill.
Public comment against Eagle’s Landing largely criticized the impact that the development would have on traffic. Property owners in the nearby neighborhood also disapproved of the small parcel size for 126 units, tall building height, parking lot congestion, decreasing surrounding property values, and paramedic access to patients on the third floor.
Representatives with NNCH rebuffed those arguments and compared Eagle’s Landing to another complex they recently developed, Valley Springs Apartments on Hot Springs Road. It also provides affordable housing for veterans.
Joseph Sylvester, manager at Valley Springs, said the elevators are made to accommodate gurneys and paramedics, and he said the 62-unit complex rarely sees more than half of its parking spaces filled.
“What we deal with is actually people around our complex parking in our lot because we have lots of empty spaces,” he said.
Others emphasized the need for housing. Cynthia Crist-Stommel, who works in leasing at Valley Springs, said she has a waiting list of over 700 people wanting apartments; more than 600 of those are veterans.
One-bedroom units at Eagle’s Landing will lease for $735 monthly, and two bedrooms will cost $866, according to Matthew Fleming, executive director of NNCH. He emphasized the project will be good for the neighborhood.
“We are the best neighbors you would possibly want because we live here. I was born and raised here. I love Nevada. I love Carson City. We are committed to our projects for 50 years and more. We are wanting to make our community better,” he said.
Planning Commissioners agreed with concerns about possible traffic hazards, but voted 5-1 to approve the project, with the caveat that the developers update their traffic study and account for sight distance for cars entering and exiting the parking lot.
“I don’t think … that it’s necessarily fair for us as a community to blame a developer for our crappy streets,” said Commissioner Charles Borders.
Commissioner Paul Esswein also criticized public comments that complained about the affordability of the apartments and how it would impact surrounding property values.
“I heard some folks complaining that this would be low-income. … I definitely believe that discrimination against low-income people should not be allowed,” he said.
Commissioner Nathaniel Killgore was the lone “no” vote. He said he was still concerned with the traffic impacts of the project, and added he would side with the pubic, as he has in the past.
The Planning Commission’s decision to approve Eagle’s Landing may be appealed within 10 days, by May 9, according to the Carson City Planning Department.
