Opinion ID: 2388616
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Passage of Resolution 6712 and Ordinance 5809

Text: Cold Springs is a predominately rural area located north of Reno. It is a closed hydrographic basin that traps water and sewer outflow within its confines. Because of the closed nature of Cold Springs' water services and infrastructure, there are limited water supplies and sewage disposal available to its citizens. In 2005, the City passed a zoning ordinance that annexed approximately 6,800 acres of undeveloped land in Cold Springs. [1] The City annexed this land because developers proposed substantial urbanization in the area, including 13.5 million square feet of new commercial space and 6,860 new residential units. After the annexation, Nevada's statutory scheme required the Reno Planning Commission and City Council to modify the City's master plan and zoning provisions before development could begin. Pursuant to NRS 278.030(1), the governing entity of each Nevada city with a population of 25,000 people or more must create a planning commission. City planning commissions are responsible for drafting and adopting master plans. Sustainable Growth v. Jumpers, LLC, 122 Nev. 53, 62, 128 P.3d 452, 459 (2006) (citing NRS 278.150(1)-(2)). Master plans contain long-term, comprehensive guides for the orderly development and growth of an area. Id. (citing NRS 278.150(1)-(2)). Before adopting a substantial amendment to a master plan, the city planning commission must hold at least one public hearing after providing notice by publication of the hearing's time and place. NRS 278.210(1). Once the city planning commission adopts the master-plan amendments, the local governing body may adopt such amendments if they can be practically applied for the area's development. NRS 278.220(1). Before adopting any amendment, however, the governing body must hold a public hearing after providing notice by publication of the hearing's time and place. NRS 278.220(3). When a governing body adopts an amendment to a master plan, it must also abide by the procedures set forth in NRS 278.0282. Subsection 1 of NRS 278.0282 states that [b]efore the adoption or amendment of any master plan, ... each governing body and any other affected entity shall submit the proposed plan or amendment to the regional planning commission. Once the governing body submits the proposed master-plan amendment, the regional planning commission shall determine whether the proposed plan or amendment conforms with the comprehensive regional plan. NRS 278.0282(1). Regional plans set forth goals and policies for the physical development and orderly management of the regional area in question. NRS 278.0272(1)-(2). Governing bodies may also enact zoning ordinances with a procedure similar to that used to adopt amendments to master plans. NRS 278.260(1) sets forth that local governing entities must provide for the manner in which zoning ordinances are amended. Under RMC section 2.100, a local committee must first consider a proposed ordinance and, after the city meets requirements for the notice and publication of the provision, the Reno City Council must either adopt or reject the proposed ordinance within 45 days after the publication. Any proposed zoning changes must also substantially conform to the applicable master plan. Nova Horizon v. City Council Reno, 105 Nev. 92, 96, 769 P.2d 721, 723 (1989). Pursuant to NRS 278.0284, [a]ny action of a local government relating to ... zoning ... must conform to the master plan of the local government. In adopting any ordinance or regulation relating to... zoning, ... the local government shall make a specific finding that the ordinance conforms to the master plan. In addition, NRS 278.250(2) states that zoning regulations must be adopted in accordance with the master plan for land use. In this case, the Reno Planning Commission held a public hearing to discuss amendments to the Reno Master Plan and the passage of a corresponding zoning ordinance. The proposed zoning ordinance would rezone the subject property in Cold Springs from generally rural land-use designations to industrial, commercial, and urban residential classifications. The proposed master-plan amendments would alter the Reno Master Plan so that it was in agreement with the proposed zoning ordinance. The Reno Planning Commission then approved the master-plan amendments and corresponding zoning ordinance. When considering these provisions, it deferred issues about supplying the prospective development with water services and infrastructure to a later date. After the Reno Planning Commission approved the proposed amendments and ordinance, the Reno City Council considered them at a public hearing. The City Council then conditionally approved the master-plan amendments in Resolution 6712, which would change the Reno Master Plan by altering the land-use designations for the subject property. The resolution stated that it would become effective upon a determination of conformance by the Regional Planning Commission. Next, the City Council changed Cold Springs' rural zoning designations to primarily urban designations in Ordinance 5809. Although Ordinance 5809 originally stated that it would become effective several days after its adoption, the City Council amended the ordinance so that it would become effective upon the Regional Planning Commission's determination that the master-plan amendments conformed to the regional plan. When passing Resolution 6712 and Ordinance 5809, the City Council did not find that Cold Springs' existing water services and infrastructure were adequate to serve the potential growth on the property. Nor did it make a finding specifying plans to supply additional water services and infrastructure to the subject property to meet the anticipated demand caused by development. Following the passage of these provisions, the City Council submitted the proposed master-plan amendments to the Regional Planning Commission at the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency so that it could determine whether the amendments conformed to the Truckee Meadows Regional Plan. The Nevada Legislature created the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency in 1989 to foster coordination between Reno, Sparks, and Washoe County. The agency is comprised of a director, staff, the Regional Planning Governing Board, and the Regional Planning Commission. The agency adopted the first Truckee Meadows Regional Plan in 1991. Then in 2002, it adopted a regional plan that created a streamlined, simplified process for coordinating land-use development in Reno, Sparks, and Washoe County. In this case, the Regional Planning Commission unanimously determined that the proposed amendments to the Reno Master Plan conformed to the Truckee Meadows Regional Plan. Upon the finding of conformance, both Resolution 6712 and Ordinance 5809 went into effect.