The City of Reno finalized its new master plan at the end of 2017, solidifying the blueprint that guides growth over the next 20 years. And growth is big factor, since the city is expecting about 62,000 more people to move here over the next 20 years. They will have to decide where to put new housing, how to manage the traffic, and how to keep the city safe.

The last time Reno wrote up a new master plan was in 1997. City Councilmember Jenny Brekhus said it was long overdue.

"We had gone through a boom, a bust, and another boom on it, so we really didn't have a policy road map to take us into the future," Brekhus said.

The city is certainly booming now, which means it desperately needs new housing. While the city can't typically tell developers what to build, this master plan does have something to say about land use and zoning; specifically, greenlighting projects that favor in-fill, high density housing over ones that sprawl single-family homes into the desert.

"Land, particularly land out in the sage brush is only valuable if the public is ready to invest in fire, police services out there," Brekhus said, "and even the infrastructures lines that go out there."

That's not to mention the traffic issue. Building out in to the desert means more road congestion in and out of the city. The obvious solution might seem to be expanding the roads or building more freeways, but Brekhus said that won't work.

"You can't build yourself out of congestion," Brekhus said. "You can keep building bigger roads and it induces more transit and more traffic."

Her solution is smarter land use that requires less driving and possibly a public transportation system like light rail. But first, they want to see what happens with autonomous vehicles, which could be a game changer.

"That's something that could really assist transit in terms of reducing operating costs over time," City of Reno Senior Planner Sienna Reid said, "so I think while there is uncertainty, there's also excitement."

This weekend's episode of Face the State features an in-depth look into the new master plan. It airs Saturday at 4:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and Sunday at 6:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.