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Agenda Item
16. Public Hearing: Appeal of the Community Services Department (CSD) Director's rejection of the second (revised) submittal for the First Final Map for Sierra Reflections (Tentative Map Case Number TM06-001) which was submitted to Washoe County on April 5, 2023. It has now been determined that portions of the project site are located within the Carson River Mercury Superfund Site, and recent testing has shown mercury levels in the soil exceeding the maximum allowable limits as determined by the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") for residential development. The submittal was rejected, in part, due to a determination from the Washoe County Health District that an approved Mercury Remediation Action Plan is required and that the proposed Mercury Remediation Action Plan submitted by appellants is incomplete and lacks specific information, testing, sample locations, storage, final grading, utilities and additional items that would be required for a complete review. The submittal was also rejected, in part, as the proposed Mercury Remediation Action Plan would result in the first final map not being in substantial compliance with the tentative map, as required by NRS 278.360. Finally, the submittal was rejected as mercury contamination on the project site was not presented to the Planning Commission for its consideration in accordance with Washoe County Code ("WCC") 110.608.10(v) and WCC 110.608.25(f), and there were several outstanding tentative map requirements.
The project was originally approved in 2006 as a 938-lot, single-family residential subdivision. The project site is located in the Pleasant Valley area, and is bordered on the north by Pagni Lane, on the east by US Highway 395 South and to the south is Little Washoe Lake. The project encompasses 29 parcels that total approximately 759.6 acres. (APNs 046-060-45, 47 & 55; 046-080-40; 046-090-01, 04 through 18, and 23 through 26; and 046-100-02 through 04, 07 and 10).
Appeals of CSD Director's decisions involving final maps are authorized in WCC 110.610.50(f). The Board of County Commissioners (Board) may affirm, reverse or modify the decision of the CSD Director. Community Services. (Commission District 2.) FOR POSSIBLE ACTION
I support the CSD Director's rejection of the second (revised) submittal for the First Final Map for Sierra Reflections based on site location within the Carson River Mercury Superfund Site. More importantly, I support rejection of the original project originally approved in 2006 for 938-lot single-family residential subdivision based on the following points: 1) the proposed housing subdivisions are located within the Steamboat Creek watershed, including the flood plain which increases the probability that mercury can be mobilized during high flow events posing an environmental hazard to residents and the aquatic ecosystem - it is noteworthy that signatures of elevated mercury contamination in aquatic biota (fishes and invertebrates) were identified following the 1997 flood of Steamboat Creek and the Lower Truckee River; 2) the proposed development exceeds low suburban density of the area (i.e., one single family resident per acre) and proposes high density characteristic of urban communities (five or more single family residents per acre and townhouses); 3) the proposed development lacks the infrastructure (water, sewer, traffic and schools) to accommodate future development as proposed; 4) the proposed development is not consistent with the 2019 Truckee Meadows Regional Plan, the Washoe County master plan, or the proposed revised master plan currently under public review (Envision Washoe 2040) to prevent development on steep slopes, preserve open space, conserve natural resources and viewsheds, protect wildlife migration corridors (migratory waterfowl, neotropical birds, winter and summer deer and bear migrations), and to maintain the rural character of the South Valleys area.
I support the CSD Director's rejection of the second (revised) submittal for the First Final Map for Sierra Reflections based on site location within the Carson River Mercury Superfund Site. More importantly, I support rejection of the original project originally approved in 2006 for 938-lot single-family residential subdivision based on the following points: 1) the proposed housing subdivisions are located within the Steamboat Creek watershed, including the flood plain which increases the probability that mercury can be mobilized during high flow events posing an environmental hazard to residents and the aquatic ecosystem - it is noteworthy that signatures of elevated mercury contamination in aquatic biota (fishes and invertebrates) were identified following the 1997 flood of Steamboat Creek and the Lower Truckee River; 2) the proposed development exceeds low suburban density of the area (i.e., one single family resident per acre) and proposes high density characteristic of urban communities (five or more single family residents per acre and townhouses); 3) the proposed development lacks the infrastructure (water, sewer, traffic and schools) to accommodate future development as proposed; 4) the proposed development is not consistent with the 2019 Truckee Meadows Regional Plan, the Washoe County master plan, or the proposed revised master plan currently under public review (Envision Washoe 2040) to prevent development on steep slopes, preserve open space, conserve natural resources and viewsheds, protect wildlife migration corridors (migratory waterfowl, neotropical birds, winter and summer deer and bear migrations), and to maintain the rural character of the South Valleys area.