The Miramonte planned development is located east of Los Altos Parkway between Belmar Drive and Vista Heights Drive (Exhibit 1).

The Miramonte Planned Development Handbook and the Miramonte Tentative Map (with 27 Conditions) were approved in 2005. At the time, the Regional Transportation Commission’s (RTC) traffic model called for widening the section of Los Altos Parkway from Belmar Drive to Vista Boulevard from two lanes to four lanes when final maps were recorded for 600 units in the Miramonte Tentative Map area. Accordingly, Condition of Approval #14 of the Miramonte Tentative Map required the widening of Los Altos Parkway when final maps were recorded for 600 units in the Miramonte Tentative Map area to maintain a Level of Service (LOS) C, which was the Regional Transportation Commission’s adopted LOS standard for Los Altos Parkway in 2005. The adopted LOS standard for Los Altos Parkway in the current (2040) Regional Transportation Plan is LOS D.

As of the date of this staff report, final maps have been recorded for 589 units. Based on current information about the build-out of the area, the RTC’s traffic model does not project the need to widen Los Altos Parkway to four lanes to maintain LOC D. The applicant is therefore requesting that Condition #14 be amended.

The applicant is requesting the amendment of Condition of Approval #14 of the Miramonte Tentative Map. The amendment of Condition #14 will not change the number of approved lots in Miramonte, nor will it affect the size, layout, or design standards of any of the existing or remaining lots. The requested amendment of Condition #14 only affects the offsite improvements that are required on Los Altos Parkway.

The applicant submitted a traffic analysis (Exhibit 2 at p. 12) that evaluated existing traffic and estimated future demand based on approved land uses both in the Miramonte Planned Development and the other planned developments that access Los Altos Parkway. This analysis was performed when the 448-townhome subdivision to the south of this project was approved in May of 2017. This traffic analysis evaluated all existing and proposed traffic impacts on Los Altos Parkway and suggested a mitigation measure that was evaluated by RTC (Exhibit 2 at p. 124) and the City of Sparks. The proposed mitigation measure is to extend the westbound left turn lane pocket to 400 feet at the intersection of Los Altos Parkway and Vista Boulevard. This mitigation measure will allow Los Altos Parkway to operate at Level of Service (LOS) D, which is the RTC’s current LOS standard for Los Altos Parkway.

The existing Condition #14 reads:

14. ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS ON LOS ALTOS PARKWAY:

THE DEVELOPER SHALL ENTER INTO A CAPITAL CONTRIBUTION FRONT ENDING AGREEMENT (CCFEA) FOR THE WIDENING OF LOS ALTOS PARKWAY FROM TWO TO FOUR LANES FROM THE INTERSECTION OF VISTA BLVD (SOUTH) TO BELMAR DRIVE TO THE APPROVAL OF THE ENGINEERING SERVICES MANAGER FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND THE REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION (RTC). THE ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS ON LOS ALTOS PARKWAY SHALL BE CONSTRUCTED WITH THE FINAL MAP THAT YIELDS 600 LOTS AND NO ADDITIONAL FINAL MAP SHALL BE RECOMMENDED FOR FINAL APPROVAL UNTIL THE ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS ARE SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETE.

If approved, the amended Condition #14 would read:

14. Roadway Improvement on Los Altos Parkway:

THE DEVELOPER SHALL COMPLY WITH THE CONDITIONS OF THE TRAFFIC STUDY, PREPARED BY TRAFFIC WORKS (DATED 9-8-17), TO INCLUDE WITHOUT LIMITATION THE LEFT-TURN LENGTHENING IMPROVEMENT AT LOS ALTOS PARKWAY (SOUTH)/VISTA BOULEVARD INTERSECTION, EXTENDING THE WESTBOUND LEFT TURN POCKET ON LOS ALTOS PARKWAY TO ACCOMMODATE 400 +/- FEET OF STORAGE.

This proposed amendment to Condition #14 would have no material effect on the tentative map for Miramonte, other than to bring the proposed mitigation measure for Los Altos Parkway into compliance with the current RTC model. Planning Commission and staff are in support of amending Condition #14 as proposed. All other conditions of approval shall remain the same and are attached to this staff report.

Staff requested comments from public agencies in accordance with NRS 278.330 to 278.348, inclusive. The responses that were received have been incorporated into the findings and/or the proposed conditions of approval for this item. Staff confirmed with RTC staff by phone that there have been no changes to the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) for this area since that letter.

A special plan review meeting was held on January 24, 2019 with the applicant’s representatives present, as well as staff from engineering and Sparks Fire Department, and all parties are in agreement with the proposed change to Condition #14.

The four (4) owners of the subject property and their management company have provided affidavits in support of the change to Condition #14 (Exhibit 2 at p. 126).

The Planning Commission determined that findings T1 through T12 can be made and recommended that the City Council approve the amended Condition #14.

Findings for Amendment to a Tentative Map

FINDING T1:

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.

The amendment of Condition #14 will have no impact on the existing compliance of the Miramonte Tentative Map regarding environmental health laws and water and air pollution, or the supply of water or disposal of sewage and solid waste. (Conditions 3 and 4)

FINDING T2:

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 amendment of Condition #14 will not impact the existing compliance of the Miramonte Tentative Map regarding the availability of water because the condition pertains to off-site improvements. (Condition 3)

FINDING T3:

The availability and accessibility of utilities has been considered.

The amendment of Condition #14 will not impact the existing compliance of the Miramonte Tentative Map regarding the availability and accessibility of utilities.

FINDING T4:

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

The amendment of Condition #14 will not impact the existing compliance of the Miramonte Tentative Map regarding the availability and accessibility to public services.

FINDING T5:

The request conforms to the Comprehensive Plan and zoning ordinances.

RELATIONSHIP TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

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

GOAL C1:  Develop a complete, efficient transportation system that gives Sparks residents of all ages and visitors access to employment, housing, services and recreation throughout urban Washoe County.

Staff believes that the amendment of Condition #14 will meet Goal C1 by providing adequate access for residents and visitors and will continue to provide an acceptable LOS as identified by RTC.

Policy C1:  Work with the Regional Transportation Commission to add roadway capacity as necessary to accommodate Sparks’ growth.

Working in partnership with RTC to assess and develop roadway capacity needs for long-term planning achieves a moderated and controlled development of roadway infrastructure to meet the future needs of the City. RTC has removed the widening of Los Altos Parkway from its list of long-range roadway improvements. Amendment of Condition #14 brings street improvement plans for this area into conformance with the current (2040) Regional Transportation Plan.

GOAL MG6:  Promote compact development to reduce the per capita cost of providing infrastructure, public facilities and public services.

Staff believes that the amendment of Condition #14 will reduce the per capita cost of providing and maintaining infrastructure (Goal MG6) by reducing the total number of lanes that need to be constructed and ultimately maintained by the City of Sparks.

FINDING T6:

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

The amendment of Condition #14 is in compliance with the current RTC model and will maintain LOS D. All other streets within the Miramonte Tentative Map will remain the same. This amendment does not change the subdivision street design or layout (Conditions 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15).

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.

The 2005 RTC model that was in place when this tentative map was originally approved required the widening of Los Altos Parkway from two (2) to four (4) lanes from Belmar Drive to Vista Boulevard to comply with the adopted LOS standard at that time. The current RTC model no longer requires this as a mitigation measure for Los Altos Parkway to operate at the acceptable LOS D. The proposed mitigation from the applicant-provided traffic analysis is to extend the left turn pocket to 400 feet from the intersection of Los Altos Parkway and Vista Boulevard. The City Engineer and RTC staff have reviewed this mitigation measure and are in support of the mitigation.

FINDING T8:

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

The amendment of Condition #14 will not impact the existing compliance of the Miramonte Tentative Map regarding floodplain, slope, and soil. There are no changes to the subdivision’s number of lots or design. (Conditions 5, 18, and 26)

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 a comment letter from RTC, which is attached to this staff report (Exhibit 2 at p. 124). RTC’s comments and recommendations generally support the amendment of Condition #14 and are discussed throughout this staff report and the Conditions of Approval.

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 amendment of Condition #14 will not impact the existing compliance of the Miramonte Tentative Map regarding fire protection. (Condition 19)

FINDING T11:

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

This section identifies project specific issues not discussed above such as:

Landscaping:

The amendment of Condition #14 will not impact the existing compliance of the Miramonte Tentative Map regarding landscaping. (Condition 8)

Architecture:

The amendment of Condition #14 will not impact the existing compliance of the Miramonte Tentative Map regarding architecture. (Condition 24)

FINDING T12:

Public notice was given, and a public hearing held as required by 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. The Planning Commission agenda was posted on January 30, 2019. The Planning Commission and the City Council meetings function as the public meetings for this item.

1. The City Council can approve the amendment of Condition #14 of the Miramonte Tentative Map.
2. The City Council may deny the request to amend Condition #14 of the Miramonte Tentative Map.
3. The City Council could remand the request to Planning Commission with direction. 

I move, based on the information and findings set forth in the staff report, to amend Condition of Approval #14 of the Miramonte Tentative Map for a site approximately 831 acres in size generally located east of Los Altos Parkway between Belmar Drive and Vista Heights Drive, Sparks, Nevada in the NUD (New Urban District – Miramonte Planned Development) zoning district.