The proposed Comprehensive Plan land use amendment covers the western portion, approximately 167 acres in size, of the Stonebrook planned development. It is generally located at the southeast corner of La Posada Drive and Pyramid Way. (Exhibit 1 - Vicinity Map)

On January 6, 2006, the City Council approved the annexation of and a Comprehensive Plan amendment for the Stonebrook property. The Stonebrook planned development consists of approximately 610 acres and was approved for 2,135 dwelling units, 50.9 acres of commercial land uses and 33.6 acres of business park uses. The City Council approved the Stonebrook Final Design Standards and Regulations on April 24, 2006.

On February 10, 2014, the City Council approved a Tentative Map for a 617-lot single-family residential subdivision located on the eastern portion of the Stonebrook planned development.  Currently, there are 218 lots recorded in two final maps and 145 lots being reviewed in two additional final maps.

On May 14, 2018, the City Council approved the Phase 2 Tentative Map for 459 lots on 118.45 acres in the southeastern portion of the Stonebrook planned development.

The property that is the subject of this request is the only portion of the Stonebrook planned development designated for commercial, business park and multi-family residential uses.

On August 2, 2018, the Planning Commission reviewed and approved this Comprehensive Plan amendment. (Please refer to the Planning Commission Report of Action.)

On October 10, 2018, the Regional Planning Commission 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. (Please refer to the Regional Planning Commission Action Letter.)

The portion of the Stonebrook planned development covered by this proposed Comprehensive Plan land use amendment consists of four parcels totaling 167.1 acres, of which 8.5 acres are allocated for streets). The existing and proposed Comprehensive Plan land use designations are shown in Exhibit 2 - Existing Land Use, and Exhibit 3 - Proposed Land Use, respectively, and are as follows:

The proposed request does not change the number or types of land use categories. Rather, the applicant’s proposed changes involve the movement and reallocation of land uses within the western portion of the Stonebrook planned development. The proposed amendment includes changing the land use for 12.3 acres currently designated as Commercial (C) to 5 acres of Multi-Family Residential (MF24) and 7.3 acres of Intermediate Density Residential (IDR). The changes are driven in part by the applicant’s interest in creating a larger multi-family development site in the western part of the Stonebrook property. The existing location for the MF24 use is split by the Reach 4 Drainage Channel, making development of a large apartment complex difficult. The proposed location of the MF24 land use is shifted to the south and is more centrally located, requiring other land uses to be rearranged. The proposed 19 acres of MF24 is the only land designated for multi-family use in the Stonebrook planned development.

The addition of seven acres of Intermediate Density Residential (IDR) will have minimal impacts on the planned development, since the maximum overall number of units approved in the handbook of 2,135 units remains.

If the Comprehensive Plan land use amendment is approved, the Stonebrook Final Design Standards and Regulations (the handbook for Stonebrook) will need to be amended to reflect the approved land use designations before any development can occur on the property.

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FINDINGS:

Finding CP1: The proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment would be in conformance with the Regional Plan land use/intensity designation.

The Truckee Meadows Regional Plan Goals and Policies relevant to this project are:

Goal 1.1 Between 2007 and 2030, at least 99% of the region’s population growth and 99% of the region’s jobs growth will be located in the Truckee Meadows Service Areas (TMSA).

The subject property is located within the Sparks city limits and Sparks’ portion of the TMSA.

Goal 3.5 The Regional Plan will coordinate the master plans, facilities plan, and other similar plans of local governments and affected entities to ensure that necessary public facilities and services to support new development are or will be available and adequate at the time the impacts of new development occur (i.e. concurrency).

Regionally, Goal 3.5 has been interpreted to mean that necessary public facilities and services must be in place, or that there must be a plan and a funding mechanism to provide them, concurrent with new development. The City of Sparks has generally sought to provide for concurrency when entitlements such as land use and zoning approvals are granted. The Stonebrook planned development has been approved since 2006 and is included in the City’s utilities and facilities plans. The Stonebrook property is located within Impact Fee Service Area Number 1 (IFSA #1) and as development occurs, impact fees will be collected for sanitary sewer and storm drain improvements, a sixth fire station, and regional trails. The site is currently located outside the six-minute response time for City of Sparks fire and emergency medical response, but the Fire Department can request inclusion of this area in the mutual aid agreement with the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District (TMFPD). On this basis it is staff’s view that the requested Comprehensive Plan amendment complies with Goal 3.5 of the Regional Plan.

Finding CP2: The Comprehensive Plan amendment would implement the goals listed within the Sparks Comprehensive Plan as listed in the staff report.

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

Goal MG1       Support economic vitality by providing a non-residential land use base.                               

Goal MG2       Foster diversity in the land use mix including residential, commercial, industrial, employment and recreational areas citywide.

Policy MG1     The Land Use Plan will provide for a diverse and integrated mix of residential and non-residential land uses which, in the aggregate, are fiscally positive.

Goal H2           Promote a strong, diverse housing market that supports economic growth and vitality while ensuring environmental and fiscal sustainability.

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 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.

As discussed above, the proposed land use changes involve the movement of and reallocation of acreage among land use designations within the western portion of the Stonebrook planned development. The area designated as Commercial (C) would be reduced by 12.3 acres to 38.6 acres but, as shown in Exhibit 3, would have increased exposure to Pyramid Way, enhancing its potential appeal for commercial uses. The acreage designated as Employment Center (EC) remains the same at 33.6 acres but with a new configuration that provides more flexibility and more fully integrates it with the area designated Commercial. For these reasons, Planning Commission views the proposed land use amendment as consistent with the goals of providing a non-residential land use base (Goal MG1) and fostering diversity in the land use mix (Goal MG2), and with Policy MG1, which calls for providing a diverse, integrated, and fiscally-positive mix of land uses.

The proposed land use amendment would increase the area designated as MF24 from 14.1 to 19.1 acres and shift it southward, so it is no longer split by the Reach 4 Drainage Channel, creating a larger and more readily developable multi-family housing site. This increase to the acreage designated as MF24, and adding 7.3 acres of land designated as IDR, support Goal H2 and Policy H2 of the Comprehensive Plan by providing additional land for at least two types of residential uses to meet the current high demand for housing.

Under Policy MG5, review of Comprehensive Plan amendments requires an evaluation of the impacts on existing and planned facilities and infrastructure. The Stonebrook property has been master planned to accommodate similar development since 2006. The Stonebrook handbook provides a plan for the facilities and infrastructure necessary to serve development of this site, including flood control facilities, electric and gas utilities, sanitary sewer, roads, and other public infrastructure and facilities. The requested Comprehensive Plan amendment does not substantially change the mix of uses or development densities or intensities permitted in Stonebrook. Nevertheless, any changes to the infrastructure and public facilities plans that may be necessary due to this Comprehensive Plan amendment will require amendment of the handbook and must be approved prior to development of any property affected by this request.

Policy MG5 also requires analysis of the fiscal implications of the proposed land use changes. The applicant submitted a Fiscal Impact Analysis (FIA) dated November 2017, with an update letter dated June 29, 2018, for the portion of the Stonebrook planned development covered by this Comprehensive Plan amendment (Exhibit 5a - FIA; Exhibit 5b - Update Letter). Please note that the acreage in the FIA does not include the 8.5 acres of potential streets.

The FIA concludes that development of this part of Stonebrook will produce a revenue surplus for the City’s General Fund of $7,611,198 over the initial 20-year period. The estimated revenue to the General Fund is $29,294,123 while the estimated expenditures total $21,294,123. The project is estimated to generate $2,008,963 in revenue for the City’s Road Fund with estimated expenditures totaling $8,594,033, a deficit of $6,585,070 over the initial 20-year period. Combining the net positive General Fund amount of $7,611,198 and the net negative Road Fund amount of $6,585,070 produces a projected positive fiscal impact of approximately $1,026,128 over the 20-year analysis period. 

Addressing City service levels (Policy MG5(b) and Policy CF1), the Stonebrook planned development was approved in 2006 and has been included in the utilities and facilities planning for the region since that time. As discussed for Finding CP1 above, the Stonebrook property is part of IFSA #1 and as development occurs, impact fees will be collected for sanitary sewer and storm drain improvements, a sixth fire station, and regional trails. The site is currently located outside the six-minute response time for City of Sparks fire and emergency medical response, but the Fire Department can request inclusion of this area in the mutual aid agreement with the TMFPD. 

Finding CP3: The Comprehensive Plan Amendment would be compatible with surrounding land uses.

The surrounding land uses and zoning are summarized in the following table:

The Stonebrook planned development is located at the southeast corner of La Posada Drive and Pyramid Way and encompasses approximately 610 acres. This proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment covers the westernmost portion of Stonebrook, an area of approximately 167 acres. The lands to the north and west are under the jurisdiction of Washoe County. The intersection of La Posada Drive and Pyramid Way is a commercial node for the central part of the Spanish Springs Valley. To the south are the Tierra Del Sol planned development and Washoe County’s Lazy Five Regional Park. The Planning Commission determined that the proposed Stonebrook land use changes will not adversely impact the surrounding land uses.

FINDING CP4: Public notice was given and a public hearing held per the requirements of Nevada Revised Statutes and Sparks Municipal Code.

Public notice was published in the Reno Gazette Journal on July 20, 2018. The Planning Commission and City Council meetings function as public hearings for this matter as required by the Nevada Revised Statutes and Sparks Municipal Code. This request was noticed, at a minimum, to all property owners within 750 feet of the subject properties; 185 property owners were mailed notices.

The neighborhood meeting required by NRS 278.210(2) for the proposed Comprehensive Plan land use amendment was conducted by the applicant’s representative on December 4, 2017 (Exhibit 4 – Certificate of Verification for Neighborhood Meeting). Seven people attended the meeting. Those in attendance expressed concerns about increased traffic on Pyramid Way and the speed of traffic on Pyramid Way.

1.  The City Council can certify the Comprehensive Plan amendment.

2.  The City Council can remand the Comprehensive Plan amendment to the Planning Commission with comments.

I move to certify a Comprehensive Plan amendment to change the land use designations on a site approximately 167.1 acres in size located at the southeast corner of La Posada Drive and Pyramid Way from 14.1 acres of Multi-Family Residential (MF24), 50.9 acres of Commercial (C), 33.6 acres of Employment Center (EC), 46.9 acres of Intermediate Density Residential (IDR), and 13.1 acres of Open Space (OS) to 19.1 acres of Multi-Family Residential (MF-24), 38.6 acres of Commercial (C), 33.6 acres of Employment Center (EC), 54.2 acres of Intermediate Density Residential (IDR), and 13.1 acres of Open Space (OS), based on Findings CP1 through CP4 as set forth in the staff report.