On  March 18, 2004, the Planning Commission approved a Master Plan amendment to change the land use designations for the northern portion of the Kiley Ranch property from Open Space(OS), 3 dwelling units per acres (3 du/ac), 4 dwelling units per acres (4 du/ac), 10 dwelling units per acres (10 du/ac), General Commercial (GC), Business Park (BP), and School/Park; to Low-Medium Residential (LMR 5.0 - 7.9 DU/AC), Medium Residential (MR 6.0 - 11.9 DU/AC), Medium-High Residential (MHR 12.0 - 17.9 DU/AC), High Residential (HR 15.0 - 23.9 DU/AC), Community Commercial (CC), Neighborhood Commercial (NC), Arterial Commercial (AC), Village Center (VC), Office/Business Park (OBP), Business Park (BP), School/Park, Public/Institutional (PI), Neighborhood Park (NP) and Open Space (OS).

On October 18, 2004, the City Council approved the Tentative Development Handbook for Kiley Ranch North. On January 12, 2005, the Regional Planning Commission found the project in conformance with the Regional Plan and approved Kiley Ranch North, a project of regional significance.

In July 2004, a development agreement between the City of Sparks and Kayfam Corporation, as master developer, was approved. That development agreement allowed for Kiley Ranch North to be processed differently than other planned developments. It allowed approval of a tentative handbook that covers the entire planned development and, as phases are to be developed, for a final handbook for each phase to be submitted to the City for review, approval and recordation. Final handbooks for other planned developments must cover the entire area included in the tentative handbook.

In April of 2013, a new development agreement was approved and recorded after the Kiley Ranch North property was sold. This development agreement is between the City, KM2 Development, Inc. as master developer, and property owner Rising Tides, LLC (the Development Agreement). The terms include continuing to allow Kiley Ranch North to be reviewed and approved in phases as a series of final development handbooks.

On July 11, 2016, the City Council approved an amendment to the Kiley Ranch North Tentative Development Handbook associated with PCN14038. The amendment included:

+    Adding approximately 38 acres to the southeast portion of the planned development

+    Amending the street network to include proposed changes to roads constructed to date

+    Reflecting the updated land uses approved in final handbooks to date

+    Eliminating the Neighborhood Commercial land use

+    Combining two neighborhood parks into one community park

+    Adding approximately 38 acres to the Low Medium Residential (LMR) land use in Village 37

+    Identifying Villages 17 and 18 as potential school site(s)

+    Adding a medical campus as a permitted use in the Community Commercial land use designation

+    Adding the Mixed-Use Residential land use designation

+    Removing the school site, formerly in Village 43, and designating it as Medium Residential land use

+    Incorporating new development standards from the six recorded final handbooks

+    Removing the Public/Institutional (PI) land use

+    Removing the infrastructure phasing section

These tentative development handbook changes were approved prior to the adoption of the City of Sparks Comprehensive Plan in late 2016. When the Comprehensive Plan Land Use Map was created, the approved land uses in planned development handbooks were translated into the most closely matching Comprehensive Plan Land Use Map designation. Kiley Ranch North’s master developer is now requesting changes to the City’s Comprehensive Plan Land Use Map.

Handbooks serve as the zoning document for planned developments. As discussed above, pursuant to the Development Agreement there is an approved tentative handbook for Kiley Ranch North that covers the entire planned development. To date the master developer has also submitted, and the City has approved and recorded, final handbooks for eight phases. Some of these final handbooks include land use (i.e. zoning) maps that vary from the land use map in the approved tentative handbook. If this proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment is approved, the master developer will request land use changes to the tentative development handbook to bring it into conformance with the Comprehensive Plan. Following that step, those final handbooks with land use maps that do not match the revised tentative handbook will also need to be amended.

No development can occur on a site until there is a recorded final handbook for that portion or phase of the Kiley Ranch North planned development. All development standards and infrastructure plans are reviewed by the City with the final handbook for each phase.

On October 4, 2018, the Planning Commission reviewed and approved this Comprehensive Plan amendment. (Refer to Exhibit 5 - Planning Commission Report of Action.)

On December 12, 2018, the Regional Planning Commission (RPC) held a public hearing and reviewed the requested Comprehensive Plan amendment. The RPC found the proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment in conformance with the Truckee Meadows Regional Plan. (Please refer to Exhibit 7 - TMRPA Action Letter)

The Kiley Ranch North planned development covered by this proposed Comprehensive Plan Land Use amendment consists of a total of 874.21 acres (Exhibit 1 - Vicinity Map). 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:

* Note: The Land Use areas are based on approximate size of the Land Use area or ‘bubbles.’ The City’s Land Use map does not include some of the narrow Open Space areas (approximately 25 acres) within the Kiley Ranch North planned development, nor does it include the roadways.  Staff estimate the area of the land use ‘bubbles’ has resulted in an error of approximately 3 percent. The table is intended to show the relationship in changes of the land uses and is not intended to indicate the exact acreage of the proposed land uses.

The proposed request does not change the number or types of land use categories within the Kiley Ranch North planned development. Instead, the proposed changes involve the relocation and reallocation of acreage among various land use designations. The request includes a slight increase in residential land uses, from 334.2 to 338.2 acres. However, as reflected in the Land Use Designation table above, amongst the residential land use categories there is a relatively large increase, from 22.9 to 60.4 acres, in the area designated Intermediate Density Residential (IDR), which allows from 6.0 to less than 10 dwelling units per acre. This increase is the result of reductions to the Low Density Residential (LDR) and the two Multi-family (MF14 and MF 24) land use designations.

The proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment would more than triple the acreage designated as Mixed-Use, from 20.5 to 69 acres, while decreasing the size of the areas designated as Commercial and Employment Center. Specifically, the master developer proposes reducing the area designated Commercial from 156.9 to 127.8 acres (-18.6%) and reducing the area designated Employment Center from 128.9 to 82.4 acres (-36.1%). Community Facilities acreage increases by 78 percent as the final Phase 8 Handbook designated these Villages (17 and 18) as middle and elementary school sites, a Community Facilities land use. There is no proposed change in the acreage designated as Open Space.

As part of the analysis for the 2016 amendment to the Kiley Ranch North Tentative Development Handbook, City staff addressed the goal of jobs-housing balance in the staff report. The 2016 analysis projected that 8,139 employees would be located within Kiley Ranch North’s Commercial and Employment Center areas, including a possible medical campus. Using the maximum number of 4,463 housing units permitted by the Kiley Ranch North Tentative Development Handbook, the estimated jobs-to-housing ratio was 1.8 jobs per housing unit.

With one exception for school employment, staff has employed the same job generation factors used for the 2016 analysis. The Commercial designation was applied to 88.75 acres plus 39.75 acres for the future hospital campus. For purposes of the analysis, City staff assumed that, at most, half the Mixed-Use area (approximately 35 acres) would be developed with commercial uses with the balance being developed for housing. Staff applied the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency factor of 14.3 employees per acre of commercial use, which projects the generation of 1,770 employees. The prospective medical campus could generate 2,850 jobs using a factor of 9.5 employees per bed, based on an assumption that a 300-bed facility will be constructed. The Employment Center designation, which would apply to 82.4 acres if this request to amend the Comprehensive Plan is certified, would generate 2,307 employees using the Regional Transportation Commission’s factor of 28 employees per acre. The 2016 analysis did not include any school employees, but because the Washoe County School District has now acquired land in Kiley Ranch North for two schools, one of which is currently under construction, this 2018 analysis uses a factor of one employee per 14.9 students. The two schools are planned for a total of 2,150 students, producing an estimated 144 school employees.

With the approved maximum number of housing units remaining the same at 4,463 residences, the estimated jobs-to-housing ratio is projected to decrease to 1.6 jobs per housing unit. However, this is the same as when the Kiley Ranch North Tentative Planned Development Handbook was originally approved in 2004 (1.6 jobs per housing unit).

Regarding traffic, the applicant submitted an updated Trip Generation Letter prepared by Solaegui Engineers and dated July 24, 2018 (refer to Exhibit 4 – Trip Generation Update) to address the proposed land use changes. The project was studied in 2005 and then again in 2016. The 2016 land uses were estimated to generate 123,449 average daily trips with an A.M. peak hour of 7,825 trips and a P.M. peak hour of 13,658 trips. The land uses proposed in the 2018 Comprehensive Plan amendment are estimated to generate fewer trips: 100,862 average daily trips, 5,738 trips in the A.M. peak hour, and 10,277 P.M. peak hour trips. This comparison represents a reduction in traffic between the 2016 and 2018 land uses of 22,587 average daily trips. The A.M. peak hour is projected to produce 2,087 fewer trips and the P.M. peak hour is estimated to result in 3,381 fewer trips. There is an increase in average daily trips projected for the sites of the two schools while the Commercial and Employment Center sites are expected, due to the reduction in acreage for these uses, to produce a lower average daily trip counts.

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN:

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, concurrently 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 Kiley Ranch North planned development has been approved since 2004 and is included in the City’s utilities and facilities plans. The Kiley Ranch North area is located within Impact Fee Service Area Number 1 (IFSA #1) and as development occurs, impact fees are collected for sanitary sewer and storm drain improvements, a sixth fire station, and regional trails. Kiley Ranch North is currently located outside the six-minute response time for City of Sparks fire and emergency medical response, but this area is covered by 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 do not change the types of land uses, only the location of and acreage dedicated to those land uses. The proposed land use changes would result in a total of 279 acres designated as Commercial, Employment Center, and Mixed Use. This represents a proposed reduction of approximately 27 acres or less than 9 percent. As a result, City staff still views the proposed land use map 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 and integrated mix of land uses. Fiscal impact (Policy MG1) will be discussed below.

The proposed land use amendment would increase the area designated for residential land uses, but only by approximately 4 acres. The land uses, both existing and proposed, provide for a variety of densities, and while the acreage proposed for Multi-Family (MF14 and MF24) would be decreased pursuant to this request, so too would the acreage for Low Density Residential, the least efficient development pattern. The proposed residential land use densities range from 3 dwelling units per acre to 24 dwelling units per acre. Planning Commission thus viewed the Kiley Ranch North planned development as providing the opportunity to build diverse housing types, supporting Goal H2 and Policy H2 of the Comprehensive Plan.

Under Policy MG5, review of Comprehensive Plan amendments requires an evaluation of the impacts on existing and planned facilities and infrastructure. The Kiley Ranch North planned development has been master-planned to accommodate similar development since 2004. The Kiley Ranch North Tentative Development 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. Any changes to the infrastructure and public facilities plans that may be necessary due to this Comprehensive Plan amendment will require amendment of the tentative and final handbooks 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) prepared by EKAY Economic Consultants dated July 2018 (Exhibit 7 – Fiscal Impact Analysis).

The FIA concludes that development of Kiley Ranch North, based on the proposed land use and associated planned development handbook changes, will:

• Produce estimated revenue to the General Fund of $287.4 million and estimated expenditures totaling $211.8 million to produce a revenue surplus for the City’s General Fund of $75.6 million over the initial 30-year period.
• Generate $25.6 million in revenue for the City’s Road Fund with estimated expenditures totaling $57.2 million, producing an estimated deficit of $31.6 million over the initial 30-year period.
• Produce a projected positive fiscal impact of approximately $44 million over the 30-year analysis period when the net positive General Fund amount of $75.6 million and the net negative Road Fund amount of $31.6 million are combined.

City staff has two broad comments regarding the FIA. The first is regarding the methodology for the FIA. City staff has received initial recommendations from EPS, the consultant the City of Sparks has contracted with for preparation of a fiscal impact analysis methodology that future applicants will be asked to use in assessing the impact of land use projects. City staff has received and is in the process of reviewing draft guidelines for the preparation of fiscal impact analyses. The City will not, however, be adopting the EPS methodology prior to the City Council’s consideration of the requested Comprehensive Plan land use amendment for Kiley Ranch North. Accordingly, the master developer is not obligated to revise the Kiley Ranch North FIA to reflect the methodology proposed by EPS.

Based on information that EPS has provided City staff to date, City staff believes the FIA for Kiley Ranch North makes assumptions that generate higher projected General Fund revenues and expenses than EPS is recommending be used and, most substantively, that the Kiley Ranch North FIA estimates a larger net positive fiscal impact than would be produced by the EPS methodology. City staff believes, however, that the net fiscal impact of developing Kiley Ranch North based on the proposed Comprehensive Plan Land Use Map amendment remains positive.

The second comment is that although the proposed land use changes for Kiley Ranch North would reduce the acreage allocated for the Commercial and Employment Center land uses, the build-out assumptions used in the Kiley Ranch North FIA, in terms of the square footage projected to be developed on those lands, remain relatively static. This suggests more intense development of this land than the current plan for Kiley Ranch North, at floor-area ratios (FARs) that are higher than historically characteristic for these types of development in Sparks. Accordingly, City staff anticipates asking that such assumptions be codified in any future amendments to the Kiley Ranch North Tentative Development Handbook and in final handbooks for phases that include commercial land uses. This may take the form of minimum FAR requirements for non-residential uses that are consistent with achieving the build-out assumptions in the FIA and other such mechanisms.

Addressing City service levels (Policy MG5(b) and Policy CF1), the Kiley Ranch North planned development was approved in 2004 and has been included in the utilities and facilities planning for the region since that time. As discussed for Finding CP1 above, Kiley Ranch North is part of IFSA #1 and as development occurs, impact fees are 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, and as discussed under Finding CP1, the Kiley Ranch North area is included in the mutual aid agreement with the TMFPD.

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

The Comprehensive Plan land use and zoning designations for surrounding properties are summarized in the following table:         

The Kiley Ranch North planned development is located along Pyramid Way between Sparks Boulevard and Wingfield Hills Road and is approximately 874 acres in size. The lands to the north are under the jurisdiction of Washoe County. Uses in that area include Lazy Five Regional Park and large-lot residential development. To the east is the Pioneer Meadows planned development, which is planned for and is developing as a mix of residential and commercial land uses. Also, to the east are wetlands with a conservation overlay. To the south is the Kiley Ranch South planned development. Located to the west is proposed The Quarry development, which was approved in 2018 for a maximum of 1,800 housing units and 13 acres of commercial uses on the north side of Highland Ranch Parkway. The intersection of Sparks Boulevard/Highland Ranch Parkway and Pyramid Way will be a future commercial node. Planning Commission concluded that the proposed Comprehensive Plan land use changes would not fundamentally modify the planned character of Kiley Ranch North or 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 September 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.

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 September 19, 2018 (Exhibit 8 – Certificate of Verification for Neighborhood Meeting). Twelve people attended the meeting. Those in attendance expressed concerns about the permitted uses in the Mixed-Use land use category and discussion followed on the types and density of the housing units.

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, based on Findings CP1 through CP4 as set forth in the staff report, to certify a Comprehensive Plan amendment to change the land use designations on a site approximately  874.21 acres in size located in Sparks, Nevada north of the Southern Division of Kiley Ranch, east of Pioneer Meadows Planned Development, south of Lazy 5 Regional Park, and along Pyramid Highway, Sparks, NV, from: 334.21 acres with various residential designations, 20.47 acres of Mixed Use (MU), 156.91 acres of Commercial (C), 128.92 acres of Employment Center (EC), 9.42 acres of Community Facilities (CF), and 107.4 acres of Open Space (OS); to: 338.25 acres with various residential designations, 69.04 acres of Mixed Use (MU), 127.75 acres of Commercial (C), 82.4 acres of Employment Center (EC), 42.52 acres of Community Facilities (CF), and 107.4 acres of Open Space (OS).