Planning commissioners OK city code update, storage facility

It’s been years in the making: Carson City planning commissioners on Wednesday unanimously recommended approval of a comprehensive update of Carson City Municipal Code Title 18 and the title’s appendix containing the city’s development standards.

“I would like to also note this began in 2019, so it’s taken us five years to get this far, so this is kind of a big deal,” said Teri Preston, chair of the commission.

The city’s Community Development Department and the District Attorney’s Office have been working on making the code dealing with zoning and development clearer and consistent with state and federal law. The drafting process has involved workshops with the Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission.

The recommendation of approval will go to supervisors, and any ordinance changing code would have to be read at two public meetings before adoption.

Specifically, commissioners approved three items: the revised development standards, a new table of permitted uses in specific zoning districts and updated language in Title 18 itself.

Commissioners Greg Brooks and Nathaniel Killgore were absent for the latter two motions during which commissioners finetuned language and policy in the code. For example, in the table of permitted uses, commissioners recommended water storage facilities, municipal well facilities and flood control systems/storm drain protection devices be required to obtain administrative permits when in the agricultural and conservation reserve zoning districts.

While not a special use permit, administrative permits still require neighbors be notified of projects, according to Community Development Director Hope Sullivan.

In the first action pertaining to development standards, for which Brooks was present via remote connection but Killgore absent, commissions recommended revisions to several sections. The commission received more than half a dozen letters from the public worried about development downtown including concerns about height limitations and large parking structures (no parking structures were reviewed by the commission Wednesday).

Currently, height limits vary from four stories to nine stories depending on the street section in the downtown mixed-use zoning district. Commissioners recommended more uniform standards with four stories, or 48 feet, as the maximum height along Carson Street in the downtown zone, the same four-story limitation for the Stewart Street and Plaza Street areas in the downtown zone, and three stories, or 36 feet, for the Curry Street area on the west side of the downtown corridor.

Under the recommendation, any applicant wanting to exceed the height limitations downtown would have to pursue a special use permit and appear before the commission. Existing structures exceeding the height limitations, like the Ormsby House, would effectively be grandfathered in, according to Community Development.

“I walk that area one to two times a day, living in that neighborhood, and I really like the idea of sticking with four stories,” said commissioner Ellen Dechristopher. “The reason I say that is, having lived in other towns that had higher limits as their standard, we ended up with a lot of building that instead of making it interesting, everybody wanted to max out because vertical is cheaper than horizontal.”

Dechristopher added those higher limitations led to more of a cityscape-type environment versus the history and small-town feel that make Carson unique.

At the end of the code update, Commissioner Vern Krahn mentioned the ongoing update of the city’s Master Plan, which means commissioners might have to revisit Title 18 depending on what the update brings. He said the beauty of the timing is “you do end with the idea of now integrating (Title) 18 and the Master Plan.”

The Master Plan update is expected to head to supervisors for adoption next spring.

In other action:

• With Killgore absent, planning commissioners unanimously approved a special use permit to reestablish a child care facility in 1,670 square feet of a 45,909-square-foot building on general commercial property at 4600 Snyder Ave., the building that houses Homegrown Bowl and other tenants.

A child care facility in the same location went out of business in 2020, according to city staff, and the reestablished facility will not exceed 40 children.

Applicant Jennifer Millim told commissioners the operation would offer day care and evening child care for those working late.

“As we know, Carson City is a day care desert, just as Northern Nevada is, and we need all the day care we can get,” said Commissioner Sena Loyd. “And thank you for looking at a creative solution to help provide that and providing it at a time that is not 8-5, Monday through Friday.”

The day care would be open daily 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to a staff report.

“The GC zoning district does not have limitations on business hours and based on the project location, staff is not recommending a condition to limit the hours of operation,” the report stated.

• With Brooks and Killgore absent, commissioners unanimously approved a SUP for outdoor storage and enclosed personal storage at 556 Airport Road, a split zone of general commercial and public regional property within the Lompa Ranch North Specific Plan Area.

The applicant, Sierra Tahoe RV and Boat Storage, has plans for a 760-square-foot manager’s office, 54,400 square feet of enclosed personal storage, covered space for 180 RVs and a waste dump station and propane refill area, according to the city.

SUPs are required for split zoning where a use is not allowed on one section, in this case the public regional zoning district. A SUP for the project was approved in 2019 and subsequently extended, though the last extension expired July 27, according to the city.

“I know this is part of the North Lompa Plan… how does this particular project, and on the east side, fit into the larger Lompa Plan?” asked Krahn.

Associate Planner Heather Manzo explained the Lompa Plan is part of the Master Plan, with specific standards beyond general commercial zoning affecting design elements like landscaping and parking layout. The subject site was identified as a commercial site in the Lompa Plan.

“We did review for conformance with the specific plan as part of the project,” Manzo said.

Planning Commission Chair Teri Preston referred to another storage project reviewed in August, when planning commissioners recommended denial. That proposal was for RV and boat storage near a residential area east of Emerson Drive. The project included offsite management and gated access, and residents argued it would change the neighborhood.

“And one of the things that makes this one different is there is actually a manager’s office, and it will be regulated when people come in and out, correct?” she said, with the applicant affirming. “So that makes a big difference on an unmanned storage area.”