Incoming First Judicial District Court Judge Jason Woodbury, left, with newly-appointed Carson City District Attorney Garrit Pruyt in the lobby of the community center Nov. 21, 2024.
Photo by Scott Neuffer.
It happened quickly — in less than a week — but Carson City has a new district attorney and a new judge for First Judicial District Court Department 1.
Thursday, the Carson City Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to appoint Chief Deputy District Attorney Garrit Pruyt, who oversees the criminal division, to fill outgoing District Attorney Jason Woodbury’s remaining term, from Dec. 2 to Jan. 4, 2027.
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo announced earlier this week he was appointing Woodbury to the bench. Specifically, Woodbury will replace First Judicial District Court Department 1 Judge James Todd Russell, who retired in October.
“Jason’s commitment to his community is unparalleled, and I’m confident he will serve with integrity and honor, just as he always has as district attorney,” Lombardo said in the news release.
“The First Judicial District holds a sacred place in my heart, and I will work hard to be worthy of the standard of excellence Judge Russell has set for this office,” Woodbury said in the same release.
Woodbury, who starts Dec. 2, was first elected district attorney in 2014. Thursday’s appointment was a chance to welcome Pruyt but also to say goodbye to Woodbury in his capacity as the city’s top lawyer.
“In that role – I think very few people realize this — there are some difficult things you got to deal with,” said Supervisor Stacey Giomi, fighting back tears. “This board has had some insight into that. I won’t go too deep into that. But I appreciate your leadership. You’ve done a great job. I’m a little emotional because it’s sad to lose you in that role, but you’re going to make one hell of a judge.”
Woodbury declined to comment on his replacement due his new judicial position, but plenty of people from the DA’s Office and other departments spoke in favor of a permanent appointment, meaning Pruyt will serve the remainder of the term until a successor elected in 2026 takes office.
According to a staff report, Pruyt is a long-time resident of Carson and has been employed in the DA’s Office since 2015.
Kelly Brandon, president of the Carson City Deputy District Attorney Association, spoke in support of Pruyt — saying he once took on half the criminal calendar in court to support the office — and Sheriff Ken Furlong lauded Pruyt’s leadership with CCSO officers and investigators.
Assistant DA Dan Yu, who oversees the office’s civil division, said Woodbury had maintained high ethical standards grounded by a strong moral compass.
“Garrit (Pruyt) has my full endorsement because I view him the same way,” Yu said.
Carson City Public Defender Charles Odgers also weighed in with a letter to the board recommending Pruyt for the job.
“He is calm and cool-headed. He is a forward thinker, wanting what is best for the constituents of Carson City,” Odgers wrote.
As audience members applauded after the appointment, Mayor Lori Bagwell told Pruyt, “You’re in the frying pan now.”
In other action:
• Supervisors approved an RV and boat storage project on 3.64 acres zoned single-family 6,000 on the east side of Emerson Drive and the southern end of Louise Drive.
First, supervisors voted 3-2, with Giomi and Supervisor Lisa Schuette voting nay, to approve a Master Plan amendment changing the land use designation of the property from low density residential to community/regional commercial.
Second, after the Master Plan amendment was narrowly passed, supervisors unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance approving a tentative commercial planned unit development (PUD) to change the underlying zoning from residential to tourist commercial and grant a special use permit (SUP) for the storage facility.
Supervisors’ approval came on the heels of an Aug. 28 recommendation of denial by the Carson City Planning Commission. Commissioners had cited neighborhood incompatibility and other factors in their recommendation of denial for both measures.
Thursday’s approval also followed objections of neighbors to the north, many worried about privacy. Documents for the hearing included an Aug. 25 petition with more than 30 signatures from residents opposed to the project.
“The residents are really not in favor of having a commercial parking lot, or a moving parking lot, or having a business like that in a neighborhood,” Mark Way resident Eric Antila reiterated Thursday.
The project, with gated access and offsite management, allows up to 167 RV and boat storage spaces, either enclosed or covered, on the property that was a remnant from the state’s construction of I-580. At the planning commission hearing, neighbors agreed the property should stay residential.
John Krmpotic of KLS Planning & Design Group, the applicant, argued then and Thursday that the PUD would limit the property to the single proposed use of storage. He also maintained the storage activity would be quiet and compatible with houses to the north, emphasizing a 30-foot tree-lined buffer zone between them.
Krmpotic said current zoning allows up 25 houses on the property and presented a schematic showing 17 hypothetical lots, emphasizing the intensity of the residential use.
“I think there is an extremely compelling case to be made that there’s more combability with this use (storage) than single family,” he said.
Supervisors had mixed opinions and acknowledged the parcel is an odd shape with access issues.
“I honestly believe that this is a good project for this piece of property, and I think it will benefit the neighborhood in the long run,” said Supervisor Curtis Horton.
Schuette was concerned about flooding and stormwater mitigation — which developers argued would be improved with hydrology studies and detention basins — and she also noted the project’s access point from Emerson Drive was in a residential area.
Like Schuette, Giomi opposed the Master Plan amendment, saying, “We’re not talking about an SUP. We’re not talking about a use by right. We, as a board, are deciding to change the Master Plan and the zoning designation. It isn’t a use by right. I think that needs to be mentioned because to me, this is a much higher bar than a SUP.”
Supervisor Maurice White said in researching the issue he found 20 RV and boat storage facilities in the area, with half a dozen within the city adjacent to residential areas.
“When you look along the 580 corridor, all along that entire stretch is this mix of residential, light industrial and commercial,” he said, emphasizing infill development is a priority.
Bagwell said establishing adjacent uses is one of the hardest things supervisors do.
“For me, this parcel is odd, is a remnant, and I really believe this use is one of the best transitional answers we could have from full commercial to residential. I do think it’s consistent and compliant and meets the pattern of growth,” she said.
In passing the project, supervisors modified the conditions of approval stipulating hours of operation from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily include any trash-pick up, and that developers provide a six-foot, solid privacy wall on the north boundary.
Supervisors also directed staff to resolve a question of right of way at the south end of Louise Drive, where neighbors believe public access was abandoned decades ago. If that cannot be determined, staff will seek such abandonment.
• Supervisors unanimously approved directing the Carson City Treasurer’s Office to pursue public auction of 15 properties delinquent on taxes, though the auction was set for April 23, 2025, and owners can still pay the full amount owed, said Treasurer Andrew Rasor.
Combined, the properties owe $212,496.10 in property taxes and $11,911.68 in other fees, according to a staff report.
• Supervisors unanimously approved three measures related to a 2020 EPA audit of the city’s pretreatment program regulating industrial wastewater discharge.
Supervisors approved the first reading of an ordinance amending city code pertinent to the program and then approved the third agreement with Douglas County to accept wastewater from the Clear Creek area.
They also accepted an update to the Carson City Public Works Enforcement Response Plan “for industrial users that do not comply with the requirements of the city’s wastewater pretreatment program,” according to the agenda.
Carson City Utility Manger Andy Hummel said there are approximately 20 significant industrial users in the city, and only two needed to improve certain mitigation plans following the audit.