JANUARY22, 2025 UPDATE:

The Washoe County Open Space and Regional Parks Commission held their regular meeting today, during which they discussed an item about adopting the revised 2024 Rancho San Rafael Regional Park Master Plan.

The revisions to this plan include an expansion on 400 non-paved parking stalls in the north parking zone.

They talked about when new trees could be added to the pasture area for the disc golf course.

On this topic they also discussed if the Great Reno Balloon Race Committee should be consulted on tree location so it does not interfere with the event.

During the meeting they approved moving forward with the revised plan and to discuss with the Reno Balloon Race Committee about tree placement for the future.

The item approved is listed below:

10. Recommendation to adopt the revised 2024 Rancho San Rafael Regional Park Master Plan. Revisions include an expansion of 400 non-paved parking stalls in the North Parking Zone and language stating when new trees are added to the pasture area or the disc golf course, that Great Reno Balloon Races should be consulted on tree location and/or species to ensure no impediment on their event

On behalf of Washoe County and The Great Reno Balloon Race:

"After a series of conversations, Washoe County and the board of directors for The Great Reno Balloon Race (GRBR) are pleased to announce they are in agreement of minor adjustments to the final master plan for Rancho San Rafael Regional Park. Park staff and the consultant team, Dig Studio, were able to identify ways to ensure the continuation of a safe hot air balloon festival while honoring the community’s vision for grown capabilities and offerings for all 3.5 million annual visitors. Both entities are pleased that the revised plan was adopted in the January 22 Open Space and Regional Parks Commission meeting after finding an amenable version for all. The two parties look forward to contributing to the beloved park in the coming years."

-Washoe County

-The Board of Directors for The Great Reno Balloon Race 

Pete Copeland, the Executive Director of the Great Reno Balloon Race says over the last couple months The Great Reno Balloon Race Committee has been able to work it out with the county regarding the master plan.

We asked about those discussions and he says “It was just changes that allowed us to better manage the process of getting 50,000 people in the park that Saturday morning at 4 o clock and part of that was traffic, where trees were located and just a lot of little things that would not be super important to the community but it was important to the safety of the event and we needed to go through this process.”

Copeland says the county understood their concerns and helped smooth everything out.

“With parking, instead of having it so fragmented we needed it consolidated where we can manage the process of getting all of those people into the park safely and there’s only a few corridors to do that in a very busy intersection and with that we were able to get parking on the northeast corner and parking across the corner where the new tennis courts will be.”

As for the trees, he says the original plan had a lot of new trees around the pasture itself, while The Great Reno Balloon Race Committee is all for planting trees, the committee says they need open space to safely fly their balloons too.

Copeland also mentions they've had a partnership with Washoe County for about 44 years so getting to an understanding was important to them.

 “It’ll be nice to put this behind us to know that we have a home for the next 25 years here. The community loves the event. Our fans were super supportive during this process, and we’re excited to move forward.”

He adds “So relived, I think the community is relieved we really never wanted to go down this path it just happened to go that way, but I think everyone is really relieved and we want to get back to the business of ballooning.”

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Washoe County says it will revisit proposed master plan changes for Rancho San Rafael park next month. 

Washoe County announced the decision after it discussed the proposal with The Great Reno Balloon Race and how it could impact the popular event's longevity.  

The two entities released a joint statement on Wednesday: 

Following the approval of the Master Plan for Rancho San Rafael Regional Park, Washoe County received a number of concerns related to its impact on the longevity of The Great Reno Balloon Race (GRBR). After good faith conversations with GRBR on Monday, December 2, officials at Washoe County have agreed to revisit the master plan at the next Open Space and Regional Park Commission meeting to be held in January. Both Washoe County and GRBR are committed to working together to address the festival’s ability to host future safe events at the park while balancing the needs of all park users. Both GRBR and County officials are confident that, with dedicated consideration, the plan will represent the best possible future for the park on behalf of its 3.5 million annual visitors.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Washoe County will discuss a proposed master plan for Rancho San Rafael Regional Park at its January meeting.

Earlier this week, Great Reno Balloon Race organizers argued that if the proposal is approved, it could have negative effects on the annual event that would jeopardize its future.

The master plan outlines changes to the park that would include tennis and pickleball courts, a disc golf course, and updates to parking.

Balloon race officials say that the development, which would reduce the available parking for the event and decrease the amount of area overall, threatens both the accessibility and financial sustainability of the event.

This is because the free event relies on funds raised by paid parking.

In an updated statement, Washoe County says the current master plan hadn't been updated in over 30 years.

"Over the course of creating the proposed Rancho San Rafael Regional Park Master Plan Update, 18 stakeholder groups were identified, including the Great Reno Balloon Race, for a seven-month public and stakeholder engagement opportunity, which was well-received with over 4,500 community contributions to the plan. These recommendations by stakeholders and the public were implemented into the Rancho San Rafael Regional Park Master Plan Update that was presented and adopted at the November 20 Open Space and Regional Parks Commission meeting. In light of the concerns made by The Great Reno Balloon Race, the addition of an agenda item to revisit the Rancho San Rafael Regional Park Master Plan Update will be placed onto its regularly scheduled January commission meeting to discuss stakeholder and community concerns prior to taking any further action."

NOVEMBER 25, 2024:

Organizers behind the Great Reno Balloon Race are responding to a recently proposed master plan for Rancho San Rafael Regional Park.

The organizers argue that if the proposal is approved, it could have negative effects on the annual event that would jeopardize its future.

The master plan outlines changes to the park that would include tennis and pickleball courts, a disc golf course, and updates to parking.

Balloon race officials say that the development, which would reduce the available parking for the event and decrease the amount of area overall, threatens both the accessibility and financial sustainability of the event.

This is because the free event relies on funds raised by paid parking.

In addition, they argue that the proposal includes planting trees near the balloon flight fields, which would pose safety concerns for both pilots and attendees.

If you are interesting in learning more or taking action, visit the Great Reno Balloon Race website.