The Kiley Ranch North Phase 6 Final Development Handbook (Handbook) was approved by the Sparks City Council in May 2014. The Handbook covers 146.68 acres located northeast of Kiley Parkway and Henry Orr Parkway, including villages 20, 36, 37, and 43. Other subdivisions recently approved in Phase 6 include Villages 37A, 37B, 37C, and 43, for a total of 540 single-family lots.

The proposed Village 36 subdivision consists of 169 lots on 21.75 acres, which equates to a density of 7.77 dwelling units per acre. The Comprehensive Plan Land Use designation for this site is currently MF14, which calls for residential development (single-family, duplexes and/or multi-family) in the range of 10 to less than 14 units per acre. The Handbook, which functions as the zoning document for this property, classifies the 21.75-acre parcel as MR (Medium Residential), which permits a density of 6 to 11.9 dwelling units per acre.

The MF14 Land Use designation was applied to this site with the 2016 adoption of the City of Sparks Comprehensive Plan. At that time, the approved land uses in planned development handbooks were translated into the most closely matching Comprehensive Plan Land Use Map designation. For this part of Kiley Ranch North, the two Comprehensive Plan designations that best reflected the density permitted by the Handbook were MF14 (Multi-Family, 10-14 units per acre) and IDR (Intermediate Density Residential, 6-10 units per acre). The City chose the MF14 land use designation because it accommodated the upper limit (11.9 units per acre) permitted by the Handbook’s MR designation. As a result, the proposed density of 7.77 units per acre conforms with the zoning for the parcel but not with the Comprehensive Plan land use designation.

With respect to reviewing a tentative map for conformity with zoning ordinances and the Comprehensive Plan, NRS 278.349(3)(e) states that “if any existing zoning ordinance is inconsistent with the master plan, the zoning ordinance takes precedence.” In reviewing the proposed tentative map, the MR designation from the Kiley Ranch North Phase 6 Handbook (6-11.9 du/ac) thus takes precedence over the Comprehensive Plan land use designation of MF14 (10-14 units per acre) for the subject site.

The Planning Commission reviewed this tentative map request at its October 4, 2018 meeting and recommended that the City Council approve the 169-lot single-family residential subdivision. The Planning Commission also approved a Comprehensive Plan Land Use amendment for Kiley Ranch North that, if found in conformance with the Regional Plan by the Regional Planning Commission (RPC) and certified by the City Council, will bring the density of this tentative map into conformance with the Comprehensive Plan by changing the site’s land use designation to IDR (Intermediate Density Residential). While RPC review and City Council certification of this Comprehensive Plan amendment have not yet been scheduled, they are not necessary for the City Council to approve this tentative map for the statutory reason cited above.

The proposed subdivision contains residential lots ranging in size from 3,423 square feet to 8,147 square feet, with 1.37 acres devoted to open space common areas. The proposed development will have two points of access off Kiley Parkway (Exhibit 3 - Tentative Map). The proposed road network conforms to the approved Kiley Ranch North Phase 6 Final Development Handbook. These roads are designed to handle traffic generated by this project. The individual homes will have access off “T-courts,” which will be maintained by the home-owners association (Condition of Approval 16). The loop road within the subdivision will be a public street maintained by the City of Sparks. There will be no parking on the T-court streets, but parking will be permitted within the driveway of each home and along the loop road.

At its October 4, 2018 meeting, the Sparks Planning Commission made the following twelve findings:

Tentative Map Findings

FINDING T1:

The request conforms to the Comprehensive Plan and zoning ordinances.

The proposed density for this tentative map is 7.77 dwelling units per acre. This tentative map thus conforms with the Kiley Ranch North Phase 6 Handbook zoning (MR, 6-11.9 units per acre), but not with the Comprehensive Plan land use designation (MF14, 10 to less than 14 units per acre). As discussed in detail in the Background section of this staff report, NRS 278.349(3)(e) states that “if any existing zoning ordinance is inconsistent with the master plan, the zoning ordinance takes precedence.” In this case, the MR designation from the handbook thus takes precedence over the Comprehensive Plan land use designation of MF14 for the subject site. 

RELATIONSHIP TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

Comprehensive Plan Goals and Policies that are relevant to this proposal include:

POLICY C4:      Require sidewalks for pedestrians on all street networks within the City.

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

POLICY H1:      Ensure there are sufficient appropriately zoned areas with the infrastructure, public facilities and services necessary for the production of new housing.

POLICY H2:      Promote a variety of housing types throughout Sparks, including within mixed-use settings, to expand the choices available to meet the financial and lifestyle needs of a diverse population and workforce.

 Policy CC8:   Foster neighborhood diversity and design by permitting varied lot sizes, building materials, building styles, and color.

The street cross sections and tentative map plans show sidewalks on both sides of all the streets, complying with Policy C4. Consistent with Goal CF1, infrastructure modeling has included the development of this parcel as a single-family subdivision. In addition, infrastructure and utilities are currently located to the east of the proposed subdivision and are sufficient to provide adequate services to the 169 homes. Finally, the proposed Conditions of Approval attached to this staff report (Exhibit 1) specify the additional infrastructure improvements needed for this subdivision.

The Sparks Planning Commission concluded that the development of the 169 residential lots will advance Policies H1 and H2 by creating a subdivision that will contain a mix of lot and home sizes. The proposed subdivision, which includes lots ranging in size from 3,423 square feet to 8,147 square feet, will offer residents of Sparks greater housing choice, serving the needs of a diverse population. The handbook for Kiley Ranch North Phase 6 states that design in the development will “promote visual diversity and avoid monotonous development patterns” (3.2.1.1), advancing goal CC8.

FINDING T2:

General conformity with the City's master plan of streets and highways has been considered.

The tentative map does not deviate from the City’s master plan for streets and highways. Access to the homes will be from T-courts, which will be the responsibility of the home-owners association to maintain (Condition 16). The proposed tentative map reflects the street designs shown in the Kiley Ranch North Phase 6 Final Development Handbook.

FINDING T3:

Environmental and health laws and regulations concerning water and air pollution, the disposal of solid waste, facilities to supply water, community or public sewage disposal and, where applicable, individual systems for sewage disposal were considered.

This application was distributed to the agencies that provide basic services and administer environmental and health laws. The developer must comply with the requirements of outside agencies with regulatory authority over tentative maps, including the Washoe County Health District, prior to recordation of a final map (Condition 4).

FINDING T4:

The availability of water which meets applicable health standards and is sufficient in quantity for the reasonably foreseeable needs of the subdivision has been considered.

The developer has estimated the water requirement for the development at 50.57 acre-feet per year for domestic water.  The property will be served by the Truckee Meadows Water Authority. The water rights needed to serve the project are in place or will be dedicated with the final map (Condition 5).

FINDING T5:

The availability and accessibility of utilities has been considered.

The developer has estimated the sewer demand generated by this development at 164,775 gallons of sewage per day. The applicant will be required to submit a study demonstrating, to the approval of the City Engineer, that there is adequate sewer capacity to serve the project prior to the recordation of a final map (Condition 9). The storm water and drainage plan for the development shall be reviewed and approved by the City Engineer prior to the recordation of the final map for the project (Condition 7).

FINDING T6:

The availability and accessibility of public services such as schools, police protection, transportation, recreation and parks has been considered.

SCHOOLS

This tentative map request was distributed to the Washoe County School District (WCSD) as required by NRS 278.346. The attached letter from the WCSD states that this area is currently zoned for Hall Elementary, Shaw Middle, and Spanish Springs High Schools (Exhibit 4 – Agency Responses).

The WCSD estimates the development will add 38 new students to Hall Elementary School, 8 to Shaw Middle School, and 16 to Spanish Springs High School. Hall Elementary School’s enrollment for 2017-2018 was at 92% of base capacity; adding 38 new students from Village 36 would increase enrollment to approximately 98% of the school’s base capacity. Shaw Middle School’s enrollment for 2017-2018 was at 89% of base capacity; adding 8 new students from Village 36 would increase enrollment to approximately 90 % of the school’s base capacity. Enrollment during the 2017-2018 school year at Spanish Springs High School was at 109% of base capacity. The addition of 16 new students from Village 36 would increase this school’s enrollment to 110 % of base capacity.

Washoe County School District’s comments to the City note that the District is “extending all efforts to solve overcrowding at Spanish Springs High School.”

POLICE PROTECTION

The Sparks Police Department is already the primary law enforcement agency for this location and would continue to serve the site after development.

TRANSPORTATION

The applicant’s traffic engineer estimates the subdivision will generate 1,609 average daily trips with 127 a.m. peak hour trips and 169 p.m. peak hour trips. The improvements needed to accommodate the traffic generated by this subdivision were determined with the approval of prior Phase 6 villages and the Kiley Ranch North Phase 6 Final Development Handbook.

The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) provided comments on this project (Exhibit 4—Agency Responses). RTC states that the 2040 Regional Transportation Plan identifies Kiley Parkway as an arterial with moderate access and a level of service (LOS) D and states that “the project should be required to meet all the conditions necessary to complete road improvements to maintain policy LOS standards”. This project will contribute to the Regional Road Impact Fee program, which provides funding for roadway improvements to maintain an adopted LOS.

FIRE 

Fire and emergency medical services will be provided by the Sparks Fire Department. While the development is currently located outside the City’s six-minute response, there is a mutual aid agreement with the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District to serve the area. As such, sprinklers will not be required in the homes. The Fire Department is requiring two means of access to the project site and the installation of fire hydrants prior to the storage of any combustible materials on the site (Condition 15).

UTILITIES

NV Energy will provide electric and natural gas services. Electric, telephone, and cable services will be extended underground within the roadway right-of-way to serve this development.

FINDING T7:

The effect of the proposed subdivision on existing public streets and the need for new streets or highways to serve the subdivision has been considered.

This tentative map does not change traffic patterns or generate increased trips in excess of the planned capacity of the planned and existing surrounding streets. The volume of new traffic can be served by the planned and existing road network without additional mitigation measures, though general improvements will be necessary as part of any final map for this project.

FINDING T8:

The physical characteristics of the land such as floodplain, slope and soil have been considered.

FLOOD PLAIN

The subject properties are located within FEMA Zone X. A final hydrological report in compliance with Truckee Meadows Regional Drainage Manual must be provided prior to recordation of a final map (Condition 7).

SLOPE

The project does not meet the threshold triggering application of the City’s hillside development ordinance as the site is relatively flat with slopes of less than 5 percent.

SOIL

A final geotechnical report for review and approval of the City Engineer is required prior to the issuance of any building permits.  Any recommendations from that report must be incorporated into the building permits to accommodate soil conditions (Condition 8).

FINDING T9

The recommendations and comments of those entities reviewing the tentative map pursuant to NRS 278.330 to 278.348, inclusive, have been considered.

The City has received comment letters from the following agencies, which are attached to this staff report (Exhibit 4—Agency Reponses):

Washoe County School District

• Washoe County School District
• Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County

These agencies’ comments and recommendations are addressed in this staff report.

FINDING T10

The availability and accessibility of fire protection, including, but not limited to, the availability and accessibility of water and services for the prevention and containment of fires, including fires in wild lands has been considered.

The Sparks Fire Department is the primary local fire protection agency for this location. See discussion under Finding T6.

FINDING T11:

The application, as submitted and conditioned, will address identified impacts.

Planning Commission finds the proposed tentative map to be compatible with previously approved villages in Kiley Ranch North and finds no additional impacts beyond those addressed in the 12 required findings for the tentative map. The Kiley Ranch North Phase 6 Final Development Handbook guides the overall development of the subdivision, including landscaping for the entrances to the villages, fencing, and lighting. The tentative map includes conceptual plans for the common areas, pedestrian access, and preliminary landscape plans along the streets. Common areas within the subdivision will be maintained by a sub-association of the Kiley Ranch North homeowners’ association. A condition of the tentative map requires that final landscape plans be submitted with the final map and approved prior to recordation of the final map (Condition 11). The tentative map includes links to the regional trail, which will be located on the eastern side of the site (Condition 14). Finally, architectural design must meet the standards in the Kiley Ranch North Phase 6 Final Development Handbook (Condition 10).

FINDING T12:

Public notice was given, and a public hearing held per the requirements of the Sparks Municipal Code and Nevada Revised Statutes.

Public notice for tentative maps is accomplished through the posting of the agenda for a public meeting. Neither the Sparks Municipal Code nor Nevada Revised Statutes require a public hearing for a tentative map.

1.  The City Council can approve the 169-lot tentative map associated with PCN18-0049 with the 16 proposed Conditions of Approval.

2.  The City Council can approve the 169-lot tentative map associated with PCN18-0049 with additional or different Conditions of Approval. 

3.  The City Council can deny 169-lot tentative map associated with PCN18-0049.

I move to approve the tentative map request for a 169-lot, single-family residential subdivision on 21.75 acres of a 37.41-acre parcel in the NUD (New Urban District – Kiley Ranch North Phase 6) zoning district located at the northeast corner of Kiley Parkway and Henry Orr Parkway, Sparks, Nevada.