By Carla Roccapriore O’Day
A section of Lemmon Valley was cleared Wednesday for future growth that a developer indicated could consist of several hundred single-family homes and a few million square feet of industrial buildings.
The Reno City Council unanimously approved a request by Lemmon Valley Land Company Inc. to annex 734 acres along an almost 3-mile stretch of Lemmon Drive between Patrician Drive and Oregon Boulevard. Land is contiguous on the southwest, bordering a vacant parcel.
Nobody showed up at the Reno City Council meeting to comment in support or opposition to the annexation.
The Regional Transportation Commission is conducting a traffic study that looks at impacts in the North Valleys, and the state Department of Transportation is doing a corridor study from the Red Rock area to the U.S. 395-Interstate 80 junction.
Although no specific plans have been submitted, Lemmon Valley Land Co., which plans to sell the property to a developer, drew up a scenario that showed land being cleared this year and construction taking place starting next year until 2022. It showed 454 homes, 3.5 million square feet of industrial buildings and 12,650 feet of 2-lane road being built.
That’s only an example, though.
“There’s nothing cut in stone yet,” Councilman Paul McKenzie said. “They haven’t submitted anything for approval yet. This is all vacant land.
“The developer, who’s now in the city, has to pay property taxes to the city.”
McKenzie added that city annexation would allow the city to help mitigate growth impacts in the area, such as traffic and congestion.
Truckee Meadows Water Authority plans to start construction of its Vidler pipeline extension on Lemmon Drive and extend it to North Virginia Street to join its existing system. Groundwater is being drawn from Honey Lake Basin north of Reno.
Reno Municipal Code requires property in the city to connect to the city’s sewer system unless approved otherwise. Builders are responsible for making sure their developments connect to designated wastewater facilities.
An Economic Planning Indicator Committee report last year showed Washoe County will generate 34,742 new jobs through 2019, which translates into 16,676 to 25,709 new housing units.
This future project is among several recent developments in the area that include a 624,000 square foot Amazon warehouse on 39 acres at 8000 North Virginia Street, an industrial for facility for lease is being built next door on 28 acres. Petco also recently built a 770,000 square foot distribution center at 9059 Red Rock Road.
