Sierra Reflections Comment Guide

On Thursday, September 10th at noon the public can again offer public comments on the Sierra Reflections 900 home subdivision.

This meeting will be before the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency (TMRPA) Governing Board. The TMRPA met in July and the Commissioners approved the project despite hours of specific public comments citing deficiencies.

One example is a long retaining wall to be built between mercury contaminated soil under a park next to a retaining pond. The other side of the wall will be on the riparian (shore zone) area of Steamboat Creek. In their post public comment comments, the developers representative insisted there are no plans for a wall. But the public commenter got the information from the developers own plan and application. It is clearly shown and marked on their plan.

Despite this and many other fact based objections, the plan was passed.

Next Meeting Strategy

This meeting is special as it will be attended by the entire TMRPA Governing Board. This is 11 people representing Sparks, Reno, Washoe County and the Washoe County School District. This is our last chance to have a say in our community character.

Hopefully, despite the time of day, we will get a lot of neighbor support at the meeting. If you choose to speak, you have 3 minutes to present a clear and concise argument. It is best to type it up, and practice it to make sure it is 3 minutes and you are comfortable reading it out loud. You should present facts, statistics, histories, examples if you have the time to research them. If not, sticking to a specific concern you have regarding how the plan will impact you and your community will be Ok.

The Developer's Plan is here at the Washoe County Website.

The TMRPA Sept 10 Meeting Agenda is here: https://tmrpa.app.box.com/v/26-09-10-RPGB-Agenda

Sierra Reflections

Our Main focus is on:

Water: Previously development along the Mt Rose Highway including the sinking of large wells for that. These wells damaged existing residents wells requiring expensive mitigation. The Sierra Reflection project proposes sinking large wells for their 900 homes adjacent to Pleasant and Washoe Valleys possibly affecting residential wells in both areas. Supposedly the State Water master says both aquifers may be over allocated already. Also over time, whether you believe in global warming or not, Reno's average temperature has gone up 7º over the last 50 years and is the fastest rising area in the country. This will require more water for landscaping and power for AC. We may be forced to deepen our wells. The TMRPA may counter that with Sierra Reflections city water services will be at Washoe Valleys doorstep. But extending that throughout Washoe Valley and Pleasant Valley will require construction and hookup fees and monthly water bills.
Fire: If you've lived here even just a couple years, you have experienced local wildfire already. The Davis Fire actually burned several homes overlooking Sierra Reflections. The Washoe Drive Fire whipped through the Sierra Reflections area in 2012. Caused by placing a bucket of fireplace ashes outside in 80 mph gusts, the fire destroyed 28 structures, historic features and even the greenery along Steamboat Creek. The Little Valley Fire in West Washoe Valley was in 2016 and started from a controlled burn. Pushed by high winds, it destroyed 750 acres of forest, 18 homes and historic features. Yet, with all this past, present and future fire danger, there is no funding to add additional fire protection in the South County area. Evacuation in case of a fire or flood is also a concern with the limited escape routes. We've just seen problems with that on last month's Hawk Fire.
Traffic: The 900 homes will not have its own freeway ramps. The solution is a roundabout at the North Eastlake/Old 395 intersection and adjacent to Old 395 /Pagni ("Pawnee") Lane at the bottom of Washoe Hill. This will add a potential of 1800+ cars to the area and highways commuting to Carson City or Reno. There is also the number of dump trucks to think about during construction. Previous commenters have raised questions about a roundabout at the base of the hill during snow and ice conditions. Noise, safety and speed have also been issues. Plus one of the stated goals of the Regional Planners is to minimize commuting miles. An urban subdivision miles from work areas would seem to conflict with this goal.
Schools: The plan optimistically states that just a few students will occupy these 900 homes and the Washoe County School District says no changes or additional capacity will be needed. Previous speakers spoke to the existing problems with traffic at the Pleasant Valley Elementary School. From these comments and concerns developer's have already realized their mistake and subsequently added more crosswalks, etc for children walking to school. But is this adequate?
Flood: Flooding has been a relatively common occurrence over the last 100+ years. The confluence of Steamboat Creek and Brown's Creek occurs in the middle of the proposed project. This intersection is at the bottom of the large Brown's Creek watershed that goes way up the eastern slope. Snowmelt and thunderstorms have caused the banks of the creek and Steamboat Creek downstream to be overwhelmed with property damage to residents in Pleasant Valley. Existing residents remember experiencing them in recent times. The building of St James Village with homes, driveways and streets (impervious surfaces) that divert water has added to the danger. Sierra Reflections will not only add to the areas where water can't be absorbed or held back and many of the homes built in the built over meadow will be in danger. There are several small retention ponds in the plan but as we have seen this year in Hidden Valley they can be easily overwhelmed and when they break they add to the destruction.
Mercury Contamination: During the Comstock mining era, there were as many as 14 ore processing mills in Washoe and Pleasant Valleys that used the abundant water and wood-fired power. Mercury was used to separate the silver and gold from the rock. Later, the waste material, heavily contaminated with poisonous mercury (tailings) was hauled to the Sierra Reflections site to be re-processed with the new cyanide process using the water of Steamboat and Brown's Creek. A small town called Willow Glen, even existed at the confluence. This ended in the 1920s and the mercury and cyanide contaminated soils were left behind on the site. This is part of the EPA's Comstock Super Fund Site. Mercury levels are still high enough in some areas to require extreme mediation by the developers. One is capping the meadow with 8' of imported certified fill. There are other areas where the mercury contaminated soil has to be dug up and moved. Sites have been designated at Sierra Reflections as permanent storage sites for this waste material, also covered with an 8' "cap". A public park will be built on this waste pile on the shore of Steamboat Creek.
Future disruption to our rural lifestyle: The 900 home subdivision also includes some high density "patio home" sections on small, urban sized lots with parking for one car. What new residents in our rural area will do with their side-by-sides, boats, RVs, trailers and second car is unknown. This is urban density in our rural, agricultural area. Also, with city sewer and water in Pleasant Valley and available to Washoe Valley, planners can eliminate the 5 acre and 1 acre lot size requirements and high density subdivisions will be available to developers in those valleys and hillsides. There is a surprising amount of private land on the hillsides surrounding Washoe Valley. If you want to see what developing that take a look at the Ascente subdivision going in above the Callahan Ranch neighborhood off Mt Rose Highway.
There are other concerns. My public comments have been on the loss of historic sites on the property. Some have been eligible for national historic recognition. The county plan requires them to be set aside and preserved. The developer says they have been "mitigated" meaning identified, mapped and evidence catalogued, therefore able to be bulldozed and built on. Both planning commissions agreed somehow reconciling the conflict between preservation and destruction.

Other Concerns for the Regional Planning Commission

You may have concerns of a regional nature.

Years ago it was decided the Western Nevada area needed to diversify away from its dependence on gaming and tourism. Nevada officials up to and including the state government began recruiting industry from outside the state to move to Western Nevada. Massive tax breaks and other incentives have been wildly successful. Plants at the "world's largest industrial park" have created traffic problems and the massive need for housing developments. The growth has drawn thousands of new residents while the unemployment rate has stayed about the same. This growth requires more infrastructure like fire, police, medical, social services, roads, utilities, etc. After the developer leaves, these initial and maintenance costs are paid partly (or mostly?) by the local taxpayers left behind. Or expansions are not funded at all lowering the quality of life and safety for current residents. When is more diversity enough?

Email Comments

You may have other concerns to bring up which would be wonderful. Just be concise and factual. You also may not be a speaker but want to show our leaders your support for preserving your rural community and lifestyle and join us in the audience. You can also write an email to submit to the Governing Board. Whatever you do, please participate!

For email comments:

The RPGB consists of members representing local government entities. Comments may be submitted to the email addresses provided below.

City of Reno

Naomi Duerr duerrn@reno.gov

Kathleen Taylor taylork@reno.gov

Devon Reese reesed@reno.gov

Brandi Anderson andersonb@reno.gov

City of Sparks

Dian VanderWell Chair dvanderwell@cityofsparks.us

Ed Lawson elawson@cityofsparks.us

Joe Rodriguez jrodriguez@cityofsparks.us

Washoe County