At the request of Councilmember Lawson staff has begun considering an expansion of the city limits to include the area east of D’Andrea and Copper Canyon and north of Interstate 80 to align with Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center for job generating land uses.  Much of the land under consideration is owned by the federal government and managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), shown in the attached figure.

Conceptual conversations have taken place amongst local elected officials about the potential for job generation in the area.  Those conversations lead to this resolution.  Similar resolutions will be considered by the Board of County Commissioners and the Reno City Council in the coming weeks.

The decision to expand the Sparks Corporate Boundary will require much analysis and policy level forethought.  Expanding Sparks comes with an inherent assumption that the City will provide municipal level services for emergency response, both police and fire; a transportation network; a sanitary sewer collection and treatment system; infrastructure to collect and dissipate storm flows; and a system of recreation facilities.  The City would be expected to operate and maintain the facilities as well as provide for capital replacement of all infrastructure in perpetuity.  Given those service commitments it is incumbent upon policymakers to consider the highest and best use of the land under consideration, estimate the taxes that may be generated from such assumed use, estimate the cost to provide municipal services and compare the two.  Assuming the basic question of “will the new development be able to pay for services it will consume over time?” is answered favorably, policymakers will then need to wrestle with the question “does the proposed expansion fit the make-up and character of the Sparks Community?” and “Do we want this expansion to be part of our future?”

Understanding that the above mentioned analysis and policy questions will take a number of years to complete, as will the federal lands acquisition process, staff is of the opinion that it’s prudent to start seeking the assistance of our Congressional Delegation.  The resolution under consideration today is a formal first step in the process.

1. The City Council may approve the Resolution of Support, as presented by staff.
2. The City Council may not approve the Resolution of Support, as presented by staff.
3. The City Council may choose to provide other direction to City staff.

I move to approve Resolution No. 3292 in Support of Comprehensive Federal Public Lands Legislation.