Opinion ID: 2388616
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The requirements of former RMC section 18.06.404(d)(1)(b)

Text: Former RMC section 18.06.404(d)(1)(b) mandated that when approving a zoning-map amendment, the Reno Planning Commission and City Council must find that there is a plan to support proposed development with sufficient services and infrastructure. It stated the following: In approving any zoning map amendment, the planning commission and city council shall find the following: .... b. The change in zoning represents orderly development of the city and there are, or are planned to be adequate services and infrastructure to support the proposed zoning change and existing uses in the area RMC § 18.06.404(d)(1)(b) (2008). Because this version of the code was in effect at the time when the district court issued its amended order, we analyze the appeal under former RMC section 18.06.404(d)(1)(b). [3] In this case, the parties acknowledge that the existing water and sewer services in Cold Springs cannot support the proposed development and urbanization permitted by the change in zoning. Because Cold Springs' existing water and sewer services cannot support the proposed development, former RMC section 18.06.404(d)(1)(b) required the Reno Planning Commission and City Council to make a finding, when passing Ordinance 5809, regarding plans to supply adequate water services and infrastructure to support the proposed development. The City argues that it complied with this former code provision because it made findings which set forth that the details regarding the provision of water services and infrastructure would be established before development begins. According to the City, it was improper for the district court to require detailed plans about water services and infrastructure at the zoning and planning stage of the process. We conclude that this is not a reasonable interpretation of former RMC section 18.06.404(d)(1)(b). Courts must construe ordinances in a manner that gives meaning to all of the terms and language. Bd. of County Comm'rs v. CMC of Nevada, 99 Nev. 739, 744, 670 P.2d 102, 105 (1983). Courts should read each sentence, phrase, and word to render it meaningful within the context of the purpose of the legislation. Id. The City's interpretation that former RMC section 18.06.404(d)(1)(b) permits governing entities to defer findings or make broad conclusions about services and infrastructure would render the following phrase in the code to be meaningless: the planning commission and city council shall find ... there are, or are planned to be adequate services and infrastructure to support the proposed zoning change and existing uses in the area. Also, deferring the requirement to make a finding about plans for adequate services and infrastructure could prevent governing entities from designing proper zoning regulations that promote the orderly development of an area. In contrast, respondents in this case interpret former RMC section 18.06.404(d)(1)(b) as requiring local governments to make a finding about plans for adequate services and infrastructure prior to the adoption of amendments to the master plan. This constitutes a reasonable interpretation of the former code provision. Pursuant to this provision's plain language, governing entities must make a finding during the zoning and planning stage of development about how officials plan to meet the water and infrastructure demands generated by the proposed zoning change. The provision's clear and unambiguous language does not permit governing entities to merely defer findings regarding plans for water services and infrastructure to a later date or to make vague conclusions that fail to articulate even a general plan for the provision of water services and infrastructure. According to amici curiae, actual plans for water services and infrastructure cannot be created before local governments enact applicable zoning ordinances. However, the express language in former RMC section 18.06.404(d)(1)(b) does not require local governments or developers to submit complete, all-inclusive development plans prior to the approval of new zoning ordinances. Such a requirement would be redundant because Nevada's statutory scheme already requires developers to submit detailed plans regarding water and sewer services during later stages in the development process. See, e.g., NRS 278.335; NRS 278.372; NRS 278.377; NRS 278A.540. As set forth above, the provision's plain language is subject to only one reasonable interpretation: local government must make a finding about plans for adequate services and infrastructure prior to the adoption of amendments to the master plan. In this finding, local government must set forth an estimate of the water services and infrastructure required to serve the proposed development facilitated by the zoning amendment and must state how the governing entity plans to meet this demand.