A proposed Century Theatres sign for a new movie theater at Meadowood Mall drew lengthy discussion last night during the Reno City Council meeting.
At issue was the sign’s height, colors, brightness and the standing of those appealing the sign.
The project was appealed by John Howitt and Robert Meurer, president of the Reno Tahoe Aviation Association.
A city hearing officer determined that the sign’s appellants lacked standing to appeal the sign on two points but did have standing to appeal based on potential safety issues presented by the sign.
According to the hearing officer, they lacked standing to appeal Meadowood Mall’s expansion because their personal and property rights would not be negatively affected by the project; in addition, “appellants lack standing whether approval from the Regional Planning Commission is required because they fail to present sufficient evidence to conclude that their personal or property rights have been or will be adversely and substantially affected.”
The hearing officer indicated, however, that the appellants had standing as pilots on issues related to the proposed sign and its safety issues related to air traffic.
The City Council advocated for a broad interpretation of standing but ultimately sided with the hearing officer’s determinations.
“I think that standing should be broadly construed,” said Councilmember Naomi Duerr. “We have a lot of public input … and I think that we may err when we start eliminating people’s opportunity to object.”
The council approved a motion that maintained the appellants standing to appeal the sign based on potential impacts to flight traffic.
Those appealing the sign were concerned the proposed sign was too high — the developer agreed to lower it — and that the sign’s light intensity and colors would negatively impact aircraft traffic.
“We are not here to stop the project; we just want it to be safe,” said David Robertson, the attorney for the appellants.
The council ultimately voted to approve the sign provided its height is reduced to 46 feet and the sign meets FAA approval.
“The FAA is going to have to regulate this light, not us,” said Mayor Hillary Schieve. “Both (sides) seem to have to come to something that everyone can live with.”
The Meadowood Mall expansion includes a new 50,600 square foot Dick’s sporting goods store and a 1,325 movie theater, which will be located on the west side of the mall.
In other City Council news, the following items are provided by the City of Reno.
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CARE Chest Celebrates 25 Years of Service in Reno C.1 Council presented a proclamation to CARE Chest, which is celebrating 25 years of serving the community. September 24th has been declared as CARE Chest for Sierra Nevada Day in Reno. AHA Heart and Stroke Walk Day C.2 Council presented a proclamation to the American Heart Association proclaiming September 20th as AHA Heart and Stroke Walk Day in Reno. |
Parklet Program D.1 – Staff presented on the City’s Parklet program, which is a sidewalk extension that provides more space and amenities for pedestrians using the sidewalk. This is a six-month pilot project through the Special Events Department, with a parklet currently at Craft Beer and Wine and one proposed on Roff Street at the corner of First and Arlington. Nevada Veterans Memorial Plaza D.2 – Kristopher Dahir and Sparks City Councilwoman Charlene Bybee presented on the proposed Nevada Veterans Memorial Plaza to be placed at the corner of Greg St. and the new Veteran’s Memorial Bridge in Sparks. The memorial will honor the 838 Gold Star Veterans from Nevada. |
| E. Consent Agenda (All consent items may be approved together with a single motion, be taken out of order, and/or be heard and discussed individually.) |
Victim Services E.2 – Council unanimously approved the 2015 Violence Against Women STOP (Services-Training-Officers- Prosecutors) Grant Award from the Nevada Office of the Attorney General to support the Victim Response Coordinator position in the Victim Services Unit of the Reno Police Department in the amount of $59,567. The grant funding will be used to help enhance victim interaction throughout the Police Department. Ballpark Lighting at Idlewild Park E.3 – Council unanimously approved awarding a contract to Titan Electrical to replace existing ballfield lighting at Idlewild Park that was damaged in a wind storm last winter in an amount not to exceed $69,840. Improving Downtown Elevators E.4 – Council unanimously approved a contract and a three year maintenance agreement to modernize with new equipment, bring up to code, and maintain the two traction elevators in the Reno Parking Gallery, 135 N. Sierra to the Redevelopment Agency. |
F.1 – Council unanimously approved Resolution No. 8087 Case No. LDC15-00071 (UNR Stead Properties Master Plan Amendment), a request by the University of Nevada Board of Regents for a Master Plan amendment to change the land use designation on six parcels totaling ±19 acres from Public Facility to Industrial and from Public Facility to Urban Residential/Commercial on one ±3.9 acre parcel. Five parcels totaling ±6.5 acres are located on the east side of Mt. Lola Street north and south of its intersection with Alpha Avenue; one parcel totaling ±3.9 acres is located on the northeast corner of Mt. Charleston Street and Echo Avenue; and one parcel totaling ±12.5 acres is located on the northwest corner of Mt. Limbo Street and Echo Avenue. All parcels are currently assigned the Public Facility (PF) zone. F.2 – Council unanimously approved the introduction of an ordinance to amend Title 18, Chapter 18.08 of the Reno Municipal Code, entitled “Zoning,” rezoning: (1) five parcels totaling ±6.5 acres from Public Facility (PF) to Industrial Commercial (IC) located on the east side of Mt. Lola Street, north and south of its intersection with Alpha Avenue; (2) one parcel totaling ±12.5 acres from Public Facility (PF) to Industrial Commercial (IC) located on the northwest corner of Mt. Limbo Street and Echo Avenue; (3) two parcels totaling ±3.61 acres from Industrial Business (IB) to Industrial Commercial (IC) located on the southeast corner of Mt. Bismark Street and Fox Avenue; and (4) one parcel totaling ±3.9 acres from Public Facility (PF) to Multifamily Residential – 30 units per acre (MF30) located on the northeast corner of Mt. Charleston Street and Echo Avenue; together with other matters properly relating thereto. F.3 – Council unanimously approved a new collective bargaining agreement with the Reno Fire Department Administrators’ Association. The new, three year, agreement eliminates the OPEB responsibility for new hires and instead utilizes a defined contribution plan, which represents an estimated savings of $7,000 per year (on average) for every new firefighter the City hires. The agreement also helps to address the issue of staffing by allowing personnel who are on the current eligibility list for the position of Battalion Chief to “act up,” when needed and help keep shifts fully staffed and fire apparatus fully staffed. F.4 – Council unanimously approved a new collective bargaining agreement with the Reno Police Protective Association (RPPA) for a period of one year. Under the agreement, RPPA members will receive a two percent wage restoration. Moratorium on Flashing/Animated Ad Displays H.5 – Council voted unanimously to extend the moratorium on the acceptance of any applications for flashing/animated on-premises advertising displays for two months or until or the City finishes the process of code review and amendment relating to flashing/animated on-premises advertising displays, whichever is sooner. |
Citizen Appointments K.1.1 – Council unanimously approved appointing Susan Hoog and Jason Leggett as alternate members of the Ward 1 Neighborhood Advisory Board. K.1.2. – Council unanimously approved appointing Stephen Funk as an alternate member of the Ward 2 Neighborhood Advisory Board. K.1.3. – Council approved continuing item K.1.3 |
Citizen Appointments M.1 – Council approved lowering a proposed movie theater sign at the Meadowood Mall from 60 to 46 feet and allowing the Federal Aviation Administration to determine the brightness of the proposed sign. The expansion project, containing a 50,600 square foot sporting goods store and a 54,350 square foot cinema with 1,325 seats on a portion of the ±79.06 acre Meadowood Mall site, is located on the west side of Meadowood Mall Circle, west of its intersection with Neil Lane (5000 #1 Meadowood Mall Circle) in the Mixed Use/Convention Regional Center/General Mixed Use (MU/CRC/GMU) zone. The site has a Master Plan land use designation of Special Planning Area/Convention Regional Center Plan/General Mixed Use. This project was appealed by John Howitt and Robert Meurer, President of, and appealing for, Reno Tahoe Aviation Association. |
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A proposed Century Theatres sign for a new movie theater at Meadowood Mall drew lengthy discussion last night during the Reno City Council meeting.