A cherished rural community in Northern Nevada is on its way to undergo a major housing boom. "The property you see behind me consists of 273 residential lots," said Chip Bowlby, Managing Partner of Reno Land Development Company.
Since 2009, this rugged Verdi terrain near Boomtown known as the Mortenson-Garson Plan has been awaiting the day it would be turned to houses.
Developer Chip Bowlby wants to build 273 homes.
A major concern for Verdi community leader, Carly Bochard.
"Most all of the developments coming through our area now and not just Verdi, but Reno proper, are cluster housing developments, which means several hundred homes rather than the typical county zoning which we are all so fond of any why we live here," said Borchard.Â
Verdi residents have been vocal to city leaders and developers about their concerns including traffic, schools, and most prominent, water.
David Carlson is a hydrologist and has surveyed the area's water sustainability. He wants to douse uncertainty that the area could not handle the coming homes.
"Several other pumping tests show that there is sufficient water in the aquifer to support the Boomtown development," said Carlson.
As Bowlby prepares to break ground on his project in June, another development just down the road is going before the planning commission Wednesday to approve 269 homes. Borchard says that the city has been proactive in making sure developers listen to residents' concerns, even negotiating size of the development down to a smaller number.
"It got them down from 500 homes and 10 ares of commercial down to the final map that is going into the city, that is well more within the realm of how many homes we would like to see the development be," said Borchard.
If the planning commission approves the project, it will go to the Reno City Council for a vote.Â
Note: we first reported that the proposal was going to be discussed in front of the Reno City Council, not the planning commission. We apologize for the error.
