Reno City Council Meeting
Wednesday, September 10, 2025
What Happened
Reno City Council held a regular meeting with 20+ agenda items, including major votes on housing policy, water infrastructure contracts, and development appeals. Meeting lasted several hours with extensive public comment on accessory dwelling units and short-term rentals.
Key Decisions
APPROVED — Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Ordinance allowing one ADU per lot on 5,000+ sq ft properties with 40% lot coverage, maximum one parking space, design standards to prevent duplex appearance, and prohibition on short-term rentals under 28 days — Vote count not recorded — Reno residents can now legally build ADUs as secondary housing units, but cannot rent them short-term, addressing Nevada AB 396 state law requirements.
APPROVED — Removal of 28-day minimum rental requirement for short-term rentals — Unanimously — Existing short-term rental businesses will continue operating without new restrictions.
APPROVED — City will not file objection to Regional Planning Commission on Stonegate development; developer can appeal directly to Truckee Meadows Regional Governing Board — 6-1 vote — Removes one procedural step for developer seeking to change North Valleys property from residential to industrial mixed-use with data centers.
APPROVED — Amendment to Jacobs Engineering design contract for wastewater treatment plant dewatering building — Unanimously — $2,000,000 additional funding for seismically unsafe building replacement.
APPROVED — Pre-construction services agreement for dewatering project at Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility — Unanimous — $321,000 additional (Reno's share of $1.3 million total), funded by sewer customer revenues.
APPROVED — 2024 International Fire Code adoption — Fire safety code updated to current standards.
APPROVED — Permanent transfer of General Jesse Lee Reno historic documents to Nevada Historical Society — Unanimously — City maintains public research access to documents stored 20 years.
Debated But Not Resolved
Short-term rentals in ADUs — Some residents argued STR prohibition contradicts affordable housing goals; others supported restrictions to protect neighborhoods — STR ordinance will be developed separately; 28-day restriction could change when final STR ordinance is approved.
Land use appeal fees — Art Rangel proposed splitting $1,200 fee with developers paying 90% and residents paying 10% — Item continues to upcoming council agenda for vote.
Stonegate water supply — Critics argued development requires 1,080 acre-feet of water but only 314 acre-feet available — Appeal to Regional Planning Governing Board will proceed without city objection.
Mental health service funding — Council debated whether opioid settlement funds should hire additional MOS clinician; disagreement over city vs. county responsibility for mental health services — Mayor committed to bringing back funding allocation vote at future meeting.
Property tax abatement system — Discussion of whether Nevada's unique depreciation and abatement structure is sustainable as growth-dependent revenue fails — Multiple legislative reform attempts failed; no council action taken.
What to Watch
$2,000,000 — Wastewater treatment plant dewatering building design — Sewer customer revenues
$321,000 — Water reclamation facility pre-construction services — Sewer fund (Reno's share)
ADU short-term rental rules — Council removed 28-day minimum restriction but staff will develop comprehensive short-term rental ordinance separately. When that ordinance returns, new restrictions could be added to ADUs, changing what residents can do with their properties.
Stonegate appeal outcome — Developer will appeal Regional Planning Commission's non-conformance determination directly to Truckee Meadows Regional Governing Board. Decision will determine whether North Valleys develops as 5,000 homes or mixed industrial/data center use.
Mental health crisis response funding — Mayor promised to allocate opioid settlement funds for additional MOS clinician. Council also requested judges appear at future meeting to explain why violent offenders not competent to stand trial are being released.
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