Reno City Council Meeting
Wednesday, December 6, 2023
What Happened
Reno City Council met for 7+ hours on December 6, 2023, voting on 15+ items including real estate, zoning changes, board appointments, and a major housing initiative discussion.
Key Decisions
APPROVED — National Bowling Stadium fence project ($59,032 contract) — 7-0 — Replaces temporary fencing with permanent non-scalable mesh fence using room search charge tax money
APPROVED — Coleman Drive street acceptance — 4-2 — City now owns and maintains streets that weren't officially accepted since the 1950s; came after a failed 4-2 motion to delay
APPROVED — Penbrook Drive annexation (11.4 acres) — Unanimous — Three parcels north of Penbrook Drive added to city; zoned as Parks Greenways and Open Space
APPROVED — Language Access Plan authority designation — Unanimous — Allows city manager to assign someone to handle language services for non-English speakers; state funding covers $104,000 (2024) and $84,000 (2025)
APPROVED — Jewish Nevada contribution — Vote count not provided — Council Member Breus voted no, objecting to international focus including Israel
Debated But Not Resolved
Housing density increases — Council wants to encourage more homes but split on how aggressive: staff proposed raising density bonuses for different unit sizes, but members questioned whether changes actually work and wanted traffic impact data from South Reno first — staff returning with more analysis
"Missing middle" housing in single-family zones — Staff proposed allowing duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes in some neighborhoods, but Council Member Breuss worried conditional use permits won't work; Duerr wanted offline examples before next vote — continued discussion pending
$3 million room search charge fund allocation — Breus objected to spending decisions happening without full council discussion; staff acknowledged process problem and scheduled December 19 subcommittee meeting — unresolved process issue
Affordable housing approval fast-track — Council wanted baseline data on how long the last 5 affordable projects actually took before deciding if streamlining permits helps — staff to return with specifics
What to Watch
$3,000,000 — Fire mitigation in Somerset — Federal grant
$59,032 — National Bowling Stadium fence — Room search charge tax fund
Housing code changes return to council — Staff presenting multiple zoning proposals (density bonuses, missing middle housing, affordability shortcuts) but council asking for transportation impact studies and processing time data first. Major decisions pending on how much to loosen single-family zoning.
Language Access Plan full version — Council approved a coordinator today; full comprehensive plan comes back with public comment required. Will detail how much translation gets provided and whether Spanish speakers get extra time for public comments.
Room search charge fund spending — Breus blocked the typical approval process; December 19 subcommittee meeting will decide how to spend $3 million on downtown projects. Multiple projects waiting in line.
Get Reno government news every week
Every vote. Every debate. Zero jargon.