Commission caps residential building growth at 3 percent

The Carson City Planning Commission, convened as the Growth Management Commission, recommended to cap the growth rate for residential building in the capital city at 3 percent during their meeting Wednesday.

The GMC meets annually to review the city’s growth management program implemented in the 1970s. The unanimous vote Wednesday (with commissioner Nathaniel Killgore absent) was to recommend to the Board of Supervisors residential building permit allocations for the next two years and estimates for 2027 and 2028. Using the historical cap of 3 percent growth and population estimates from the state demographer, the commission recommended 779 building permit allocations for 2025; 802 for 2026; an estimated 826 for 2027; and an estimated 851 for 2028.

The permits will be split between general property owners and developers (43 percent and 57 percent respectively) for the first quarter of the new year then combined into a single category available on a first come, first served basis.

“The Growth Management Ordinance does not specify how to determine the number of allocations that should be made available each year, only that ‘essential resources’ must be considered in determining that number. For most of the Growth Management Ordinance’s history, a general rule of allowing up to 3% growth has been used,” reads a staff report.

Commissioners also voted to keep the threshold for commercial and industrial daily water usage at 10,000 gallons per day. Any proposed use above that would require separate GMC approval.

“Carson City is really unique in that every single solitary year, we stop, we evaluate our facilities, we evaluate our deliverables, our level of services, and we ask the question of the people delivering those services, ‘Can you accommodate growth?’” said Community Development Director Hope Sullivan. “That is unusual; I want to stress that. Most communities do not do what you’re doing tonight.”

Carson City has approximately 24,388 existing residential units, according to Community Development. Following current zoning and Master Plan guidelines, an additional 7,212 units could be developed for a total of 31,600. That amount, according to staff, would put the population of the city at an estimated 73,312 versus the state’s 2023 estimate of 59,039.

Various city leaders took questions from the commission about the ability to handle growth, including representatives from the Carson City School District, public works, parks, recreation and open space, and the sheriff’s office and fire department.

In light of a minimum 5 percent raise for city employees approved by supervisors May 24, a theme arose in Wednesday’s discussion: can families, public employees specifically, afford to live in Carson City? The median sales price of a single-family home in the city was around $495,000 in April, according to Sierra Nevada Realtors. The median price for a townhome/condo was $424,000.

“Housing costs are really difficult,” said school district Superintendent Andrew Feuling.

Feuling said teachers in Carson start with an annual salary of $52,000, the highest starting rate in Northern Nevada, but even so struggle with housing costs. He said it’s not just a Carson issue, but a regional issue affecting the western U.S.

Carson City Engineer Randall Rice told commissioners his last day with the city will be Aug. 2, saying commuting from other areas is a factor in employee turnover.

“One thing that I’m very excited about was last Friday, the board agreed to approve a 5 percent raise for all the staff,” he said. “If you look at that study closely (a compensation study conducted in 2023), a number of my staff range anywhere from 15 to 25 percent below the market rate, so that has been an extremely hard challenge to overcome.”

Sullivan said growth management involves infrastructure, which, in the context of personnel, has become a topic in the ongoing Master Plan update.

“It was interesting because we don’t tend, as part of growth management, to look at personnel challenges,” she said, “but I think as you heard from the city engineer, that’s real, and that’s created a challenge in service delivery just as much as the size of a pipe does or the size of the wastewater treatment plant.”

In discussing whether to lower the residential building cap, Sullivan provided a note of caution.

“I think if we reduce housing starts, we’re compromising supply, which is contrary to affordable housing or making housing affordable,” she said.

Sullivan reported 520 residential building permits were issued in 2023 versus the available allocations of more than 700. Last year, the GMC recommended reserving a third of available permit allocations for affordable housing, but supervisors later rejected the proposal.

“I feel like we are in this place where we’re not getting any good answers or solutions for trying to make housing more affordable,” Commissioner Ellen Dechristopher said Wednesday. “So, it goes back to the good old-fashioned principle of supply and demand. So, give it the 3 percent, see what happens. Hopefully, it may actually bring prices down.”

Commissioner Sena Loyd wondered if growth management was the place to incentivize workforce housing. Sullivan said zoning updates and other tools can be reviewed by the planning commission separately and in Master Plan update workshops.

In other action:

• Planning commissioners approved a special use permit for Bruce Aerospace to install a dry paint booth in their existing business without any building expansion at 580 Mallory Way on property zoned limited industrial.

The booth will allow the company to finish products manufactured on site. The company, which specializes in aircraft lighting, has under 60 employees, according to Bruce Aerospace Human Resources Manager Alex Hutcherson.

Commissioners were curious about venting, and Hutcherson said safety and environmental considerations are the company’s top concerns.

More information can be found at https://www.bruce.aero/.

• Planning commissioners approved a special use permit to allow a 2,400-square-foot detached garage at 3681 Center Drive on property zoned single family 1 acre.

Neighbors had concerns about commercial use of the property, and commissioners added a condition of approval that any home-based business obtain a business license in accordance with city rules.