Procedures:

1. Per County instructions, attendees will be asked to sign in on a county form.
2. This URL is our presentation so please study the content below before the meeting.
3. Bring your questions, comments, and concerns to the meeting.
4. The County requests the recording of this meeting and receiving a copy of it for their own purposes, so all persons speaking will be subject to audio recording.
   

Owner’s Neighborhood Meeting Presentation:

1.  Creating two new 5-acre parcels in this area fits into the neighborhood of mostly 2.5-acre to 5-acre parcels, most are already zoned MDR (Medium Density Rural).
2. A Private Well will be required by Washoe County for each new parcel which is normal for the area.
3. Ground water rights are available to purchase for each Well.
4. A Private Septic System will be required by Washoe County for each new parcel which is normal for the area.
5. Electrical power is readily available from NV Energy.
6. Rural garbage service is readily available from Waste Management.
7. Satisfying Fire Department requirements and access via Schellbourne Street will be easily done.
8. This is a rapid growth era for Reno with numerous new apartment complexes and new single-home subdivisions being developed in many places in and near Reno.  On the contrary, developers are not creating many new 5-acre parcels and especially close to downtown Reno.  So the ratio of 5-acre parcels to individual apartments and the ratio of 5-acre parcels to single-family homes are being skewed daily.
9. Homeowners in this area are generally happy to be living here in a reasonably low-density environment and they are automatically resistant to any new homes being built whether they are built on existing parcels or newly developed parcels. It is human nature and common for each of you who got to this area to try to stop anyone else from getting here. But how is that fair?  And why try to stop such a reasonable project where 22.4 acres are being split into 3 total parcels? Isn’t that better than 4 which is just as possible?  Isn’t that much better than it sitting as is for 5 years and then getting split into 2.5-acre parcels?  That could happen.  
10. Parcels to the north, east, and south of parcel 041-140-20 are mostly zoned MDR which is consistent with the area and consistent with the upcoming submission for a zoning change to MDR on parcel 041-140-20.  Parcel 152-010-37, the 466.83 acre parcel to the west of parcel 041-140-20, is zoned County Open Space (OS).
11. It is unfortunate when good people are pitted against each other. It may be helpful to understand that If I were in your shoes I might feel like you do and be against development in my own backyard. Meanwhile, I would not get around to trying to stop the high-density apartment complexes going up in many areas that was not noticeable from my home. It may also be helpful to understand that If you owned 22.4 acres instead of your 5-acres or less, you would want to split off some 5-acre parcels too.  We live in a rapidly growing city and much of the privately-owned open land in this area will become smaller parcels with new homes. It is inevitable. When living in a city having neighbors that is what happens.  When living in a prime part of a growing city that is partially developed, the pressures create developments.
12. Property taxes also create pressure to split large parcels.  If you owned 22.4 acres and paid $16,550 per year in property taxes, wouldn’t you feel tax pressures? 
13. There are no CC&Rs on this 22.4-acre parcel. Land uses could include one or more of the following: commercial looking garages, barns or other out buildings, an outdoor storage yard for boats, RVs, earth moving equipment, etc; a dairy farm, a pig farm, a cattle feedlot, a dog kennel, a junkyard, a commercial business, a public path access to the Open Space to the west, or other possible eyesores and unattractive noisy, smelly or dusty nuisances which could begin at any time or with the next owner. Wouldn’t you rather see two expensive homes built on two 5-acre parcels which would be the “highest and best use” of the land? Some mutual satisfaction is possible because this owner is willing to negotiate with the adjacent neighbors on restrictions such as:
      a. the minimum square footage of each parcel’s primary house must be _________ square feet.
      b. the outside colors on all structures must be limited to _________.
      c. for new Parcel A on the north with a common property line with existing parcel 041-212-04:
          i. any outside wall of the primary house must be set back _________ feet (south) away from the common (east-west) property line.
          ii. any fence and any roadway must be set back at least _________ feet from the existing main house currently built on APN 041-212-04.
          iii. all driveways must be of a hard surface to mitigate dust with such surfaces being completed within _________ months of receiving the Certificate of Occupancy.
          iv. livestock _________.
          v. other _________.
14.  New 3,500+ square foot homes on 5-acre parcels will raise the value of neighbor properties over vacant land. Whereas, the values of neighbor properties would decrease substantially if one or more of the following uses began: commercial looking garages, barns or other
    out buildings, an outdoor storage yard for boats, RVs, earth moving
    equipment, etc; a dairy farm, a pig farm, a cattle feedlot, a dog
    kennel, a junkyard, a commercial business, a public path access to the
    Open Space to the west, or other possible eyesores and unattractive
    noisy, smelly or dusty nuisances.
15.  Access to the new parcels will be via separate driveways with low slopes at about 10% grades that connect to Schellbourne Street. 

A Schellbourne Street neighbor asked me some pertinent questions and my answers were, “Current county requirements:
GR General Rural (existing) limits 1 dwelling per 40 acres.
MDR Medium Density Rural limits 1 dwelling per 5 acres.
HDR High-Density Rural limits 1 dwelling per 2.5 acres.
HDS High Density Suburban limits 7 dwellings per acre.
HDU High Density Urban limits 42 dwellings per acre (Multi-family).