The City of Reno covers 106 square miles and is home to over 265,000 residents. With a total annual budget of approximately $753M, a general fund budget of approximately $235M, 15 departments and 1,370 employees, the City provides a variety of municipal services to its residents. In regards to Population Growth, in January of 2021 a revised Annexation and Land Development Code (“zoning code”) was adopted, updating policies of the Master Plan, creating a user-friendly code, and establishing a more streamlined development review process. Updated standards allow for increased density, reduced parking regulations, incentivized infill and redevelopment, and allows a wider variety of housing. Additional 2021 highlights include:

• Approximately $974,000 waived in sewer connection fees and $27,000 in building permit fees to facilitate construction of 222 multi-family affordable housing units at or below 60% AMI (42 units were at or below 50% AMI).
• The City authorized the issuance of assessment bonds to help finance infrastructure costs for a large development project containing an affordable housing component.
• The City worked with our regional partners to plan, finance, construct, and open the Nevada Cares Campus in Reno in spring 2021, with capacity to shelter over 600 individuals.
• Over 3,800 multi-family dwellings and over 3,200 single family homes were brought online in the 2020/2021 timeframe.

For policy section Regional Form, the City’s Master Plan includes implementation strategies identifying growth tiers that support the efficient use of existing public facilities and services by prioritizing development, infrastructure improvements and public investments. This is consistent with policies RF 2, RF 3 and RF 11 of the Regional Plan. In 2021, there were two detachments from the City of Reno’s Sphere of Influence (SOI) totaling ±61.5 acres, and no annexations. There were also three Master Plan map amendments and one Master Plan text amendment adopted. 

In terms of Public Facilities and Services, the City’s Concurrency Management System promotes the timely, orderly, and efficient arrangement of adequate public facilities and infrastructure that support existing and planned development within the City and its sphere of influence, and also ensures new development does not create a financial burden for existing residents or decrease existing levels of service. The Master Plan also includes policy language to reflect TMRPA policy PF 2, which focuses on prioritizing facility and service improvements in line with the priority hierarchy for development. In 2021, City and TMRPA staff began more closely coordinating on use of the Consensus Forecast to support the City’s long-term facility planning efforts and notes that this has been particularly helpful in assessing growth potential in fire station district areas and sewer sheds.

In terms of the Natural resources policy section the City’s new zoning code includes updated standards related to development on hillsides and in high-risk Wildland-Urban Interface Areas. Since adoption of the new code, the Truckee Meadows Water Authority now receives notification when certain uses are proposed in source water protection areas. In addition, development in closed basins is required to retain stormwater at a 1:1.3 ratio. Progress was also made on the City’s tree protection ordinance during 2021, which is intended to update standards, incentives and processes related to tree installation, maintenance and removal of both public and privately-owned trees. An updated tree canopy assessment for the area is expected in 2022 to support these efforts, and staff believes there will be opportunities to coordinate on this topic at a regional level as development of the Natural Resources Plan progresses. Substantial progress was made and outreach conducted on a new Parks, Recreation and Open Space Service Plan, anticipated to be completed in 2022. In 2021, Council also identified an updated sustainability ordinance as one of their top three priorities for zoning code amendments.

Finally, when reviewing Regional Coordination, with the adoption of the new zoning code, the prior cooperative planning area edge matching standards have been updated and made applicable citywide for new land divisions adjacent to lower density residential zoning. Some examples of collaborative efforts that occurred in 2021 or on an ongoing basis include: participation in the 2050 Regional Transportation Plan review with a focus on improvements in key growth areas and multi-modal transportation opportunities in the downtown core, active engagement with the 2021 Nevada Legislative Session to provide input on proposed land use planning bills that impact local and regional policies and development patterns and continued coordination with other local, regional, state, and federal agencies – an integral part of the City’s development review process.

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In early 2021, the City of Sparks Comprehensive Plan was found in conformance with the 2019 Truckee Meadows Regional Plan in its entirety by the Regional Planning Commission and Regional Planning Governing Board. Within the 2019 Truckee Meadows Regional Plan, policy section Population Growth addresses the need for our Region’s affordable housing. The City of Sparks is committed to providing solutions to the housing needs of all sectors of the Sparks community, while concurrently promoting economic growth and ensuring financial sustainability for its residents. The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) Programs remain vital funding sources for addressing needs of the Sparks community. In FY 2020/2021, the City of Sparks received a total allocation of in $684,335 of new CDBG funds. The allocation represented a decrease of $6,861 or about 0.1% decrease from the prior year (FY 2019/2020) allocation of $691,196, diminishing the ability to address increasing challenges.

When considering policy section Regional Form, the Sparks City Council approved numerous amendments to the 2015 zoning code. These changes resulted from utilization of the 2015 code, which led to staff to propose refinement of definitions, permitted uses, landscaping, density, parking and design standards. This amendment process enhances the opportunity to promote infill in areas including Victorian Square and the Marina district of Redevelopment Area 2. The City of Sparks spent $20,060,220on Capital Improvement Programs in 2021, which promote growth priorities. Capital projects completed were on building, site/utility improvement projects. Redevelopment Area #1 –Victorian Square continued to be transformed by new development in 2021 such as the completion of two multi-family structures, the Deco and the Atrium Apartments. Additionally, the Sparks Marina districts within Redevelopment Area #2, saw the completion of the Sparks Water Bar, a new restaurant, constructed and within the Oddie Boulevard district a 308-unit apartment project, called Azure Apartments, has been completed Additionally, a 312-unitproject called Parq Crossing Apartments was also completed in 2021.

With regard to Public Services and Facilities, the City of Sparks recently rehabilitated 100 manhole covers and as a result reduced the amount of water flowing to the Truckee Meadows Wastewater Reclamation Facility(TMWRF), thereby effectively increasing plant/treatment capacity. The TMWRF facility also had 4 million gallons per day of wastewater diverted for used as treated effluent to irrigate local parks, golf courses, and the UNR farm. Additionally, the Sparks Comprehensive Plan adopted in 2020 considers the Natural Resources section of the Regional Plan as it continues to identify, protect and enhance the natural environment for future generations along with addressing open space and greenways within the city. In 2021 City of Sparks staff participated in the selection process for a consultant for the Natural Resources Plan efforts for TMRPA. Lastly, the City of Sparks provided TMRPA with a list of capital improvement projects that TMRPA could use spatially to better describe where funds are being spent at a high-level geography.

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Established in 1861, Washoe County was one of the original nine counties in Nevada. The County, which includes the Reno and Sparks metropolitan area, is the second most populous in the state. As of the July 1, 2021 Governor’s Certified Population Estimate, Washoe was home to a total of 485,113 residents. The unincorporated Washoe County portion of the total population estimate is 113,306 residents.

In 2021, Washoe County made significant progress in fully establishing its Affordable Housing Trust Fund to support the creation of more permanent supportive housing and housing available to extremely low-income households. The County is also working to incorporate affordable housing as a priority in their Critical Path Program, which is designed to support developers as they navigate the building and permit process and identify potential savings and fee deferments.

Additionally, Washoe County also took over as the lead agency for homeless services in the region, adopted and began implementing standards to regulate short-term rentals within the unincorporated area of the County, and processed and approved five tentative subdivision maps with a total of 267 single-family lots.

Washoe County Engineering and Capital Projects provided information to the TMAR Capital Improvements Tracker which was submitted as part of this report. The improvements listed below are a highlight of the submittal:

• South Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility (STMWRF) Bioreactor 3-4 Excavation and Base Slab
• STMWRF Bioreactor 3-4 Walls and Facility Upgrades
• STMWRF Equipment Early Procurement
• Safe Camp
• Nevada Cares Campus

Finally, Washoe County is in the process of updating the Master Plan, which is name Envision Washoe 2040. Through 2021, County staff and the consultant team developed and concluded both the full audit of the Washoe County Master Plan and the existing conditions review. Two advisory committees, one dedicated to technical issues and one dedicated to community issues, were established and provided useful reviews of both the audit and the existing conditions review.

The EnvisionWashoe2040 project will continue throughout 2023. The County expects to hold public hearings on drafts of a new master plan early in 2024. The Master Plan update website can be found online at www.envisionwashoe2040.org.

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The Washoe County HOME Consortium (WCHC) is a partnership between the City of Reno, the City of Sparks, and Washoe County. The WCHC administers the Affordable Housing Trust Funds granted by the State of Nevada, as well as the HOME Investments Partnerships Program funds granted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In Fiscal Year 2021, the WCHC spent $1,905,130on tenant based rental assistance programs for renters earning no more than 60% of the area median income. Tenant based rental assistance programs provide up to three months of rent, utility assistance, deposit assistance and application fees for permanent housing for eligible households. The WCHC also funded a Rapid Rehousing Program with the Reno Housing Authority as well as a Cooperative Agreement to Benefit Homeless Individuals (CABHI) with the Volunteers of America. CABHI is a tenant based rental assistance program that provides monthly rental assistance for individuals in a recovery program. In total, the Consortium provided rental assistance to 1,026 low-income households in Fiscal Year 2021.

Please see the full report for a list of new construction and rehabilitation projects funded by the HOME program that were completed or under construction in 2021.

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The Sun Valley General Improvement District (SVGID) is a quasi-municipal entity which provides water, sewer, garbage, and recreation services throughout the Sun Valley community. SVGID acts as a local government agency for the residents of Sun Valley and monitors State, Regional and local issues as well as conducts near and long-term planning for its current service area and the approved service boundary. When considering Public Facilities and Services, in 2021the SVGID had no wastewater capital improvement projects to report. However, there was a capital improvement project that was completed in water, the Klondike T Main and Tank Modifications. The reason for this project was to upsize the water main for the future 5 Ridges Development. The project is located at the end of Warhol Dr. Sun Valley, Nevada, APN: 508-340-01. The total cost of the project was $502,604.48 and was developer funded.

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CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SUBMITTED REPORT

As a public entity, the Washoe County School District (WCSD) is governed by a county-wide elected Board of Trustees that serves as the steward of the district’s values, vision, mission, and resources and plans and directs all aspects of the School District’s operations.

As a county-wide agency, the school district serves all 6,302 square miles of Washoe County and is run by approximately 8,000 staff members that serve 61,599 K-12 students in addition to students attending our Adult Education program. Additional school district characteristics can be found through the WCSD website on the Student Accounting Department webpage.

The school district experiences a majority of its new facility construction occurring and planned for within Tier 1 and Tier 2 Lands as described by Chapter 3, Section 2 of the Regional Plan. Like the growth patterns that have developed over the last several years, areas, where new residential growth is occurring, are not considered within the Mixed-Use Core but are in the region’s suburban and exurban areas.

Newly completed schools opened in August 2021:

• Michael Inskeep Elementary School (Northern Cold Springs)

Additional new schools and projects:

• New Procter Hug High School
• Darrel Swope Middle School Expansion
• William O’Brien STEM Academy
• Elementary School off Rio Wrangler Parkway
• Debbie Smith Careen Technical Education (CTE) High School
• Cold Springs area High School (official name TBD)

As described within the school district’s 20 Year Facilities Plan 2020-2039, the school district anticipates an assortment of new elementary schools in the coming years which include the following regions as residential growth and student enrollments warrant construction: Lemmon Valley, mid-Spanish Springs, Stead, Northwest Reno, south Damonte Ranch, and northern Spanish Springs.

The school district utilizes highly treated effluent water for irrigation wherever possible and currently has more than 10 ES, MS, and HS campuses utilizing reclaimed water in this manner.

Schools are vital components of Reno, Sparks, and Washoe County. They not only provide places for our children to learn and grow, but the facilities themselves become landmarks and long-term elements of neighborhoods. Schools serve as gathering places, meeting rooms, community centers, and points of reference for the community. One need only look at Mt. Rose Elementary School, originally constructed in 1911 and still serving students today, as an example of how schools are part of the fabric of our community. The Washoe County School District has begun a new round of construction that will create new schools that are being designed and built to last much like Mt. Rose Elementary, which will serve many generations of Washoe County students and their families in the future.

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The RTAA is an affected entity, as defined by Nevada Revised Statutes, due to its role as a regional agency having responsibility for planning or providing transportation facilities, specifically aviation transportation facilities. In regards to policy element Population Growth, the RTAA takes the Consensus Forecast into account, however the most accurate forecast for airport demand levels and corresponding facility requirements must consider local, regional, national, and international demand for cargo, passenger airline, military, and general aviation activities. For RNO, the RTAA is currently using a Federal Aviation Administration-approved forecast that was created specifically for the 2018 RNO Airport Master Plan Update. For RTS, the RTAA is currently using the FAA Terminal Area Forecast.

When considering policy section Regional Form, the RTAA owns over 6,500 acres in the region. Nearly all of the RTAA-owned land is considered federally obligated and reserved for aviation-related facilities. In 2021, progress was made on developing three vacant areas at RNO. All three (3) projects will be designed, constructed, owned, operated, and maintained by private developers under long-term ground leases with the RTAA. The three projects are a fixed base operator facility, an airport compatible non-aviation industrial/commercial development, and an air cargo facility. Additionally, in 2021, progress was made on developing one vacant area at RTS. The planned development is for an industrial/commercial development in the southwest corner of the airport.

In regard to the Public Facilities/Services section within the Regional Plan, the RTAA has a large investment in the existing airport infrastructure which meets or exceeds the capacity needed to support substantial population and employment growth. Capital projects, undertaken by the RTAA, are usually for the purpose of maintaining existing facilities (e.g. reconstruction of existing infrastructure, replacement of aging equipment, etc.) or constructing new, improved, or expanded facilities to meet forecasted demand, to enhance safety and security, to address new regulatory requirements and standards, or to provide a higher level of service to our customers. Funding for RTAA CIP projects come from a variety of sources. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the RTAA, like all airport sponsors nationwide, has experienced a precipitous and drastic fall in revenues associated with the disintegration of passenger air travel demand. As a result, in March 2020, the RTAA slashed its current FY19-20 budget and projected FY20-21 budget and nearly all upcoming projects were removed from the budgets. However, passenger and activity levels at RNO returned to near 2019 levels, much quicker than expected and ahead of the national air travel recovery. As a result of passenger and activity levels stabilizing in unpredictable ways across the country, RNO was reclassified by the FAA from a small-hub airport to a medium-hub airport. This reclassification will primarily impact the availability of federal grant funding for airport infrastructure projects at RNO.

The RTAA remains committed to incorporating sustainability principles and practices into our operational, management, and administrative processes to ensure the economic viability, operational efficiency, and natural resource conservation of our two airports. During 2021, the RTAA’s sustainability programs continued to focus on four connected areas: Economic Viability, Operational Efficiency, Natural Resource Conservation, and Social Responsibility (EONS). The RTAA’s 2021 Annual Sustainability Report can be found on the RTAA website, https://www.renoairport.com/node/4577.

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Waste Management(WM), a public company, operates solid waste disposal and recycling throughout the United States. In the Truckee Meadows, solid waste disposal and recycling are contracted with each of the local entities (jurisdictions and general improvement districts) within Washoe County. Solid waste and recycling are collected and transported to WM owned facilities in Washoe County. Solid wasted is ultimately disposed of at the Lockwood Regional Landfill, which is located in Storey County. Recyclable materials initially processed in Washoe County, and then transported to a final processing facility (currently identified as being in Sacramento, California). Finally, the WM Annual Report submittal identifies that “Waste Management has an approved expansion permit with the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection (NDEP), which allows WM to provide disposal capacity for the Northern Nevada waste shed for more than 100 years into the future at the Lockwood Regional Landfill.

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The Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County(RTC)serves the residents of Reno and Sparks along with unincorporated areas of Washoe County. The RTC serves three roles for the Washoe County urban area: it is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), the transit service provider, and builds the regional roadway network.

The RTC works in close collaboration with TMRPA as part of a shared work program that the two agencies have had in place since 2011. The RTC relies on TMRPA’s consensus forecast to populate data for Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZs) in the Travel Demand Model. This model helps to forecast traffic congestion levels on the region’s roadway network, allows RTC to analyze the potential benefits of roadway capacity improvements, and yields criteria pollutant emissions data to be analyzed in a regional air quality model.

The RTC develops the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) in coordination with its partner entities such as Washoe County, the Cities of Reno and Sparks, and TMRPA. The RTC implemented a project prioritization framework for the 2050 RTP, which incorporated the Regional Land Designations identified in the Regional Plan. The analysis of the capital improvement program over the life of the 2050 RTP demonstrates that the majority of capital expenditures are programmed to occur in the Mixed Use Core and Tier 1 of the TMSA, particularly in the first 10 years of the RTP. As more growth is anticipated to occur in Tiers 2 and 3 during the out years (2031-2050) of the plan, a corresponding increase in transportation investment is also anticipated in those tiers.

RTC developed an Affordable Housing Study with input from TMRPA to identify potential sites through the region that support the goal of affordable housing development within proximity of viable transit routes. The RTC is committed to sustainable practices, and Sustainability and Climate Action is one of the Guiding Principles in the RTP.

The RTC has also developed a Sustainability Plan, which addresses how these practices are implemented through projects, programs, and services, both internal and external to the agency.

Furthermore, RTC was able to operate a 100% alternative fueled fleet just after 2021 and continued to provide micro transit service along with 4.1 million rides and 750 thousand rides on two RAPID transit routes in 2021.Lastly, the RTC was able to provide spatial Capital Improvement Projects to TMRPA to better understand growth and investment priorities in the Regional Plan.

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