This site is located directly east of and adjacent to Golden Eagle Regional Park (GERP) (Exhibit 1 – Vicinity Map). The site is 65 acres in size and is comprised of one parcel that is approximately 60 acres in size and two parcels that are each approximately 2.5 acres in size.  There is an agricultural building on the 60-acre parcel and an uninhabited single-family home and several accessory buildings on the smaller parcels. All existing buildings will be removed with the future development of this site.

Access to the site is via a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) access easement that starts at the intersection of Homerun Drive and Vista Boulevard on the GERP site. The existing easement then follows Homerun Drive to Touchdown Drive and turns east onto an unnamed maintenance yard access road (Exhibit 2 – Existing Easement). Homerun Drive, Touchdown Drive, and the unnamed maintenance yard access road are maintained by the City of Sparks but are not City streets because the City does not own the right-of-way or the roads. Rather, the roads are part of the City’s lease agreement with BLM for GERP.  The proposed realignment of the existing access easement and approval of said alignment by BLM are addressed in the Analysis section of this staff report.

The site has a variety of Comprehensive Plan land use designations: Open Space (OS), Commercial (C), Multi-Family (MF24), High Density Residential (HDR), Large Lot Residential (LLR), and Mixed Use (MU). These designations were adopted in 2007 (PCN07075). After approval of these land uses, a planned development handbook for development of the site was initiated but was never processed or adopted. The zoning for this site is A-5 (Agriculture), which would only allow this property to be subdivided into parcels at least 5 acres in size.  The applicant no longer believes that the existing land use designations and configuration are a viable development scenario and has submitted applications to amend the Comprehensive Plan and rezone the property.

The two 2.5-acre parcels in the southwest corner of the site were annexed in 2015 (PCN15036) and the City zoning of A-5 was assigned to the parcels at that time.

The applicant has requested to amend the Comprehensive Plan Land Use designations to Intermediate Density Residential (IDR) and change the zoning to Single Family Residential (SF6).  Because of the need for conditions and requirements to address access and sewer capacity issues to meet the requirements for concurrency in the Comprehensive and Regional Plans, staff recommended that the applicant enter into a development agreement with the City of Sparks.

On August 2, 2018, the Planning Commission reviewed these three requests and recommended that the City Council approve the Comprehensive Plan amendment and approve the development agreement and rezoning requests. (Please refer to the Planning Commission Report of Action.)

On October 10, 2018, the Regional Planning Commission (RPC) held a public hearing and reviewed the requested Comprehensive Plan amendment. The RPC determined that the Comprehensive Plan amendment conforms with the Truckee Meadows Regional Plan.

The proposed Development Agreement (the “Agreement”) must be approved by the Sparks City Council to take effect. The Planning Commission was responsible for reviewing the agreement for consistency with the Comprehensive Plan.

Summary of Development Agreement Terms

• Permitted uses and density are addressed in Section 3.1, which specifies that between 420 and 475 residential units are permitted at a gross density between 6.4 and 7.3 dwelling units per acre. Single family detached and attached units are permitted.
• Section 3.2 requires the developer to provide documentation of its legal right to access the site through BLM land for the uses and densities contemplated by the proposed Agreement.
• Required infrastructure improvements are addressed in Section 3.3. This includes the off-site infrastructure, at the developer’s expense, necessary for the proposed project. The required improvements include, without limitation:
• Necessary sanitary sewer upgrades.
• Street improvements to address the additional traffic that the proposed development will generate.  This includes:
  • Construction of an all-weather second fire apparatus access road prior to the storage of any combustible materials on the site. The Agreement as proposed by staff requires the second fire apparatus access road to be privately maintained. The developer has expressed its preference that the proposed Agreement be amended to reflect that the second fire apparatus access road will be publicly maintained.
  • Intersection improvements at Vista Boulevard and Homerun Drive to increase right and left turn lane storage capacity.
  • All streets from Vista Boulevard to the site shall be built to City standards prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy or final inspection.
  • The developer shall be responsible for maintaining all streets from Vista Boulevard to the site during all construction.
  • Stop signs shall be installed at the south and east approaches of the intersection of Homerun Drive and Touchdown Drive.  An exclusive left turn lane shall be installed at the north approach of this intersection as well.  These improvements shall be completed prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy or final inspection.
  • The roadway construction schedule shall be coordinated with the City’s Parks and Recreation Department and Community Services Department. The public access to GERP must be maintained for the duration of all construction of the project and the master developer will be responsible for all damage to streets and other improvements. 
  • Prior to the issuance of the certificate of occupancy or final inspection of any dwelling units in excess of 75 dwelling units in the project, the intersection of Vista Boulevard, Homerun Drive, and Scorpius Drive shall be improved to include one exclusive left turn lane, one shared left turn/through lane, and one exclusive right turn lane at the south approach.

• All internal streets and sidewalks shall be privately owned and maintained.  The primary access to the site shall be privately maintained until such a time that the City needs to use some portion of the primary access to access future park facilities.
• Prior to the approval of any tentative map, a report estimating the cost to maintain the private streets and an estimate of the assessment necessary to provide adequate funding to perform said maintenance shall be submitted to the City for review. The City may deny tentative map requests if the report does not comply with NRS Chapter 116A regarding reserve studies.
• The developer shall provide pedestrian and bicycle access routes to GERP.
• Section 3.3 also requires that the master developer establish and maintain a landscape buffer at least 25 feet wide between the proposed homes and GERP for the purpose of screening the homes from the lights and noises generated at GERP.
• Section 4 permits the City Council to review the developer’s compliance with the terms of the Agreement within 12 months of its effective date. It also requires the developer to report, every 24 months after that initial review, on the number of units approved and built, development densities, and the status of the project.
• Section 6.1 specifies the duration of the Agreement, which is 10 years. The Agreement grants the developer the right to request one 5-year extension subject to certain conditions.

Comprehensive Plan Amendment Findings

The purpose of bundling the Agreement with the Comprehensive Plan amendment and rezoning requests is to provide the public, third-party reviewing agencies, the Planning Commission, and City Council with an understanding of the proposed development of the subject property at the time these requests are considered. The Agreement is also intended to serve as the basis for satisfying the concurrency requirement (Goal 3.5 and Policy 3.5.1) of the 2012 Truckee Meadows Regional Plan for infrastructure and public services that must be addressed with the land use applications.

The Planning Commission found the Agreement consistent with the Comprehensive Plan in part because the Agreement obligates the developer to construct private access infrastructure to a site that does not abut public right-of-way.  The Agreement also requires the developer to construct intersection improvements in the City right-of-way on Vista Boulevard and a second fire apparatus access road.

The Agreement thus supports and is consistent with the following Comprehensive Plan goals and policies:

Policy MG5     When reviewing master plan amendments for sites over 5 acres, the City will evaluate or cause to be evaluated: a) the impacts on existing and planned facilities and infrastructure; b) the impacts on existing and planned public services; c) the proposed land use in relationship to existing land uses; and, d) the fiscal implications for public service providers of the proposed land use changes as documented in a fiscal impact analysis.

Policy CF1:       When reviewing new development, the City will not approve an application unless the City services can be provided at acceptable service levels.

In support of Policy MG5, the applicant has submitted, and City staff and the Planning Commission have reviewed, sewer and traffic studies (attached) that provide recommendations detailing how the impacts of this proposed development on existing infrastructure can be mitigated. The applicant also submitted a fiscal impact analysis (Exhibit D to Agreement) that was reviewed by City staff and the Planning Commission, in conformance with Policy MG5. The proposed Agreement supports a finding that the City can provide municipal services to the subject property concurrent with its development, complying with Policy CF1. This enabled the Planning Commission to make certain findings, including those regarding concurrency and fiscal impacts, in support of the Agreement, Comprehensive Plan land use amendment and rezoning requests.

This is the first reading of the bill to approve the Development Agreement.

This is a first reading. No motion is required.