The Washoe County Board of County Commissioners voted 3-2 to approve an appeal to a denial of the Sierra Reflections project in Pleasant Valley.Â
This means the housing development will move forward.
World Properties, Inc., the developer, appealed the denial, calling it "arbitrary" and saying it ignored evidence on the record.
At the County Commission meeting on Tuesday, public comment about Sierra Reflections took over three hours.
Many people are unhappy with the project, with one saying the proposed roundabouts on U.S. 395 Alternate would do more harm than good.
"That roundabout will also cause gridlock for the traffic. and more importantly, if there is a catastrophic event such as a wildfire, people are going to have a tough time evacuating," said William Cowan, a 23-year resident of Pleasant Valley.
Cowan was specifically talking about a roundabout proposed on 395 Alt just south of Pagni Lane. Another roundabout is being considered at Eastlake Boulevard.
As we've reported, the proposed development would span over 700 acres and have 938 homes as well as open space.
At its meeting on January 6 of this year, the Washoe County Planning Commission unanimously denied the plan, citing infrastructure concerns such as fire and police.
Another Pleasant Valley resident expressed her concerns about flooding in the area.
"They say they're going to put an eight-foot cap of dirt on top of that, and another eight feet of dirt on top of that, which creates a dike. And we flood downstream. "IÂ mean, we slide into the valleys, it goes all the way to Damonte Ranch and then out to the Truckee [River]," said Delia Greenhalgh.
Greenhalgh said she helped with the Envision Washoe 2040 master plan, adopted in January 2024. She feels Sierra Reflections ignores the master plan.
"I think all the time that we worked on these, it should be respected," she said. "They say that everything's about zoning Sierra Reflections. It's not about zoning. It's about the work we put into the Envision, into our area, and the time we put into our master plans."
Neighbors said the project does not have buffer zones around sensitive cultural resources, as recommended by Envision Washoe 2040.
