After the flood of January 1997, the Helms Pit  filled with water, creating the lake and developing the potential for a recreational resource. This furthered the development of the Marina site and allowed initial use of the site for recreational purposes. The remaining undeveloped land around the lake offers an opportunity for the City of Sparks to attract commercial, recreational, residential uses. Since the lake has good visibility from 1-80 and access from two freeway interchanges, this area has the potential to be a vibrant mixed use area.

The original Marina Village Planned Development was approved by the City of Sparks in January 2000.  Since that time, much of the site has been improved and developed.  The Handbook was modified on May 22, 2006 to change the use of a portion of the site from hotel/commercial to mixed use commercial/residential as follows:

• Replace a proposed hotel and pavilion with a mixed-use retail and condominium development with a parking garage, “The Villas at Sparks Marina.”
• Replace a proposed “lighthouse” with Marina Square, an “iconic”  building incorporating a clock tower, a restaurant on the ground floor and condominiums above;
• Change the use of the existing Waterfront Building from commercial to mixed use, with ground-level retail, office, and service retail and second and third floor town homes.

Several phases in Marina Village are developed. There are 59 single family homes on 6.6 acres on the southeast portion of the site. On the northeast portion of the site, there is an apartment complex consisting of 240 units on 9.31 acres. The recorded Marina Village Handbook covers 32.5 acres.

On June 10, 2013, the City Council approved an amendment to the Marina Village Planned Development. The approved handbook lists the square footage of the restaurant, retail space, office/personal service and the number of residential units. The amendment restricts the total maximum area for these uses to be 416,000 square feet. The standards in the handbook restrict the commercial and office uses to the first floor of the buildings. The remaining portion of Marina Village to be developed consists of two-sub areas: Marina Villas and Marina Square. These areas are planned to be a mix of commercial, office or restaurant uses on the first floor and residential units on the upper stories.

On April 2, 2015, the Planning Commission reviewed and recommended approval of the proposed handbook amendments.

The surrounding land uses and Zoning is summarized in the table below:

PD20   Public notice was given and a public hearing held per the requirements of the Sparks Municipal Code.

Public notice was given.  The Planning Commission and City Council meetings function as the public hearing per the requirements of SMC and NRS.

PD21   Modification of Marina Village Planned Development furthers the interest for the City and the residents and preserves the integrity of the plan.

When considering rezoning a Planned Development, the City must be able to identify that the “modification” is to “further the mutual interest of the residents and owners of the planned unit development and of the public in the preservation of the integrity of the plan as finally approved,” NRS 278A.380 (2).

The revised plan in the planned development handbook maintains the integrity of the plan by retaining land uses that were originally approved in the tentative handbook for Marina Village. The tentative handbook was approved originally with mixed use residential land use and this amendment does not change original concepts for development of the property. The proposed amendments facilitates the completion of the parking garage structure into a mixed use building and will eliminate the blighting impact of the neighborhood.

FINAL HANDBOOK

The following is the SMC section on final handbook approval followed by the NRS regulations.

Section 20.18.080           Procedure for final approval

A.        Application for final review by the Sparks Planning Commission and ultimate final approval by the Sparks City Council must be made to the Administrator within the time specified by the minutes granting tentative approval.

B.         A public hearing on an application for final approval of the plan, or any part thereof, is not required if the plan, or any part thereof, submitted for final approval is in substantial compliance with the plan which has been given tentative approval. The plan submitted for final approval is in substantial compliance with the plan previously given tentative approval if any modification by the landowner of the plan as tentatively approved does not:

                        1.         Vary the proposed gross residential density or intensity of use;

                        2.         Vary the proposed ratio of residential to nonresidential use;

                        3.        Involve a reduction of the area set aside for common open space or the substantial relocation of such area;

                        4.         Substantially increase the floor area proposed for nonresidential use; or

                       5.         Substantially increase the total ground areas covered by buildings or involve a substantial  change in the height of buildings.

            A public hearing need not be held to consider modifications in the location and design of streets or facilities for water and for disposal of storm water and sanitary sewage.

C.                 All requirements and regulations pertaining to the application for final approval, substantial compliance with tentatively approved plan, alternative proceedings for final action on plans not in substantial compliance, recourse to courts for failure of city to grant or deny final approval, certification and filing of approved plan upon abandonment or failure to carry out approved plan shall be provided in NRS 278A.530 to 278A.580, inclusive.

Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 278A.540 states what constitutes substantial compliance with a tentative approved planned development application.

NRS 278A.540     What constitutes substantial compliance with plan tentatively approved.

The plan submitted for final approval is in substantial compliance with the plan previously given tentative approval if any modification by the landowner of the plan as tentatively approved does not:

A.         Vary the proposed gross residential density or intensity of use;

B.         Vary the proposed ratio of residential to nonresidential use;

C.        Involve a reduction of the area set aside for common open space or the substantial relocation of such area;

D.         Substantially increase the floor area proposed for nonresidential use; or

E.         Substantially increase the total ground areas covered by buildings or involve a substantial change in the height of buildings.

A public hearing need not be held to consider modifications in the locations and design of streets or facilities for water and disposal of storm water and sanitary sewer.

NRS 278A     Plan not in substantial compliance, Alternative procedures; public hearing final action.

1. If the plan, as submitted for final approval, is not in compliance with the plans as given tentative approval, the city or county shall, within 30 days of the date of filing of the application for final approval, notify the landowner in writing, setting forth the particular ways in which the plan is not in substantial compliance.
2. The landowner may:

(a) Treat such notice as a denial of final approval;

(b) Refile his plan in a form which is in substantial compliance with the plans as tentatively approved; or

(c) File a written request with the city or county that it hold a public hearing on his application for final approval.

If the landowner elects the alternatives set out in paragraph (b) or (c) above, he may refile his plan or file a request for a public hearing, as the case may be, on or before the last day of the time within which he was authorized by the minutes granting tentative approval to file for final approval, or 30 days from the date he receives such notice of such refusal, whichever is later.

3. Any such public hearing shall be held within 30 days after the request for the hearing is made by the landowner, and notice thereof shall be given and hearings shall be conducted in the manner prescribed in NRS 278A.480.
4. Within 20 days after the conclusion of the hearing, the city or county shall, by minute action, either grant final approval to the plan or deny final approval to the plan.  The grant or denial of the final approval of the plan shall, in cases arising under this section, contain the matters required with respect to an application for tentative approval by NRS 278A,500.

Staff has reviewed the final handbook for the Marina Village Planned Development.  Based on the provisions listed in NRS, staff is of the opinion that the proposed amendment of the Marina Village Planned Development is in substantial compliance with the tentatively approved plan as approved by the City Council.  The final draft handbook:

• Does not vary the proposed gross residential density while it allows five rather than four stories, the overall maximum height of 70 feet is maintained. There is no increase in intensity of the Marina Village Planned Development Standards Handbook. Maintaining the maximum height does not change in bulk of the buildings;
• does not  vary the proposed ratio of residential to nonresidential use;
• does not reduce the common open space area;
• there is no increase to the floor area proposed for the nonresidential use from the approved tentative handbook; and
• there is no increase in the total ground areas covered by buildings nor is there substantial change in the height of buildings.  There are no changes proposed in the final Handbook.

It is staff’s opinion that the final draft amendment for the Marina Village Planned Development Standards Handbook does not substantially vary from the five criteria and conforms to the tentative handbook. Due to the fact that this request is an amendment to a recorded final handbook, staff determined this amendment should be reviewed through a public hearing process.

 City Council could not approve the Marina Village Planned Development Handbook Amendment.

I move to approve the tentative and final request for an amendment to the Marina Village Planned Development Handbook associated with PCN15011, adopting Findings PD1 through PD21 and the facts supporting those Findings as set forth in the staff report.  Because the request includes final approval, the Planning Commission does not recommend that the City Council require a bond at this time as stated in NRS 278A.490.