Reno City Council & Redevelopment Agency Board
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
What Happened
Reno City Council and Redevelopment Agency Board met May 13, 2020 for a bifurcated remote session to approve downtown recovery measures, fee deferrals for housing development, and infrastructure projects while deferring contentious annexation and code update decisions to future meetings.
Key Decisions
APPROVED — Downtown Reno Partnership fiscal year 2021 budget with $155,000 increase and flat assessment rate — 7-0 — Keeps downtown business district assessment stable while funding ambassadors and police services after $130,000 UNR funding loss
APPROVED — Police impact fee program generating $3.9 million for new public safety facility — 6-1 (Breus dissented) — Establishes growth-based revenue stream for $33 million police station rebuild and facility expansion
APPROVED — Sewer connection fee deferral for downtown housing projects (223 Court Street, 2600 Island Avenue) — 6-1 — Defers $230,000 in fees for 46 condominium units to stimulate development on 10-year-vacant sites; fees due upon unit sale
APPROVED — New Market Tax Credits application consultant services — 5-2 (Breus and one other dissented) — Allocates $40,000 for tax credit application with potential 10x return; final vote deferred to next meeting
APPROVED — Property disposition at 705 North Virginia Street with drive-thru restriction — Unanimous — Authorizes sale at below fair market value for mixed-use development near university; restricts drive-thru operations
APPROVED — Parks and Recreation fee schedule (Option 2) — Vote not recorded — Raises participant fees to offset state-mandated minimum wage impact; raises senior eligibility age to 60
APPROVED — Reno Stadion Water Reclamation Facility construction contract — 6-1 (Breus dissented) — Funds critical wastewater infrastructure via state revolving loan at 1.42% interest
CONTINUED — Evans Creek annexation hearing to May 27 — Unanimous — Council requested additional analysis on fiscal impact, fire liability, police capacity, traffic, water/sewer infrastructure, and master plan compliance before decision
CONTINUED — Mountain View Mixed Residential Villages appeal — Hearing ongoing — Public hearing continued on pedestrian/bicycle connectivity requirement through private property; applicant offered to present alternative access solution
Debated But Not Resolved
Police impact fee quality — Council Member Breus objected that administrative manual appears to be cut-and-paste from unrelated road impact fee manual with irrelevant sections; urged revision for cleaner product — Staff to bring back revised manual
Affordable housing and prevailing wage — Breus argued fee deferrals constitute subsidies requiring affordable unit covenants and prevailing wage requirements; others characterized them as financing tools with job creation benefits — No requirements added despite objections
Annexation land supply justification — Breus questioned why city abandoned annexation program (expired 2017) and whether regional growth can be justified given minimal unit difference between county and city calculations — Continued to May 27 hearing
Downtown assessment rate disparity — Public commenter objected that standard rate remained flat while premium services increased, questioning fairness during COVID-19 — Council found rates compliant with management plan
Zoning code update approach — Council Members Derer and Reese advocated phasing comprehensive code into smaller chunks for better review; staff warned phasing increases costs due to interdependencies — Deferred for future discussion with softer timeline
What to Watch
$3.9 million — Police facility impact fee program — Growth-based fees over 10-year period
$230,000 — Downtown housing sewer fee deferral (D21) — Private development; repaid upon sale
$155,000 — Downtown Reno Partnership budget increase — Property assessment (flat rate)
$40,000 — New Market Tax Credits consultant services — Redevelopment Agency funds
Evans Creek annexation (May 27) — Council promised comprehensive fire response analysis, traffic impact review, water/sewer capacity assessment, and fiscal impact in COVID context before voting on 1,200-unit development proposal
New Market Tax Credits resolution (next meeting) — Final vote required after consultant presentation; $40,000 commitment hinges on council approval of full resolution
Storm water utility proposal (future workshop) — Director committed to presenting rate study and separate stormwater proposal addressing council concerns about rate increases and infrastructure gaps
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