Reno City Council members last week approved an agreement between the City of Reno and Volunteers of America (VOA) to provide placement and rental assistance at the Village on Sage as part of a pilot Rapid Rehousing program.
The program continues through Aug. 30, 2026.
Funding for the pilot program was approved at $200,000, which will provide stable housing, gap rental assistance and other supports for individuals awaiting longer-term support from the Reno Housing Authority.
The project came about due to the number of individuals currently experiencing homelessness who have nominal incomes, are not in need of permanent supportive housing services and are on the Reno Housing Authority waitlist. According to Monica Kirch, the city’s director of housing and neighborhood development, these individuals’ incomes are not sufficient to cover housing costs without a subsidy such as a housing voucher.
The Reno Housing Authority waitlist to receive assistance is 12 to 18 months, leaving those on the list with few options.
Individuals are said to be either staying at the CARES Campus shelter while they await their turn in line or simply living unsheltered throughout the city. Kirch said that many individuals actually miss their turn in line to receive housing assistance because they have no home at which to be contacted.
Kirch said the pilot program will help participants with housing stability and provide access to assistance from a coordinator so they do not lose their opportunity for permanent, affordable housing.
Travis Sanford of Volunteers of America said this is “the most impactful item on your agenda today.”
Research shows a person has a 3.5 times higher mortality rate if they’re unhoused, Sanford said, and being unhoused has the effect of adding 20 years to a person’s age.
“This project, if we pull this off, I can’t express the real impact it will have on real people in a very short period of time,” Sanford said.
Council members approved the pilot project unanimously.
“It’s truly remarkable,” Duerr said.
‘Surplus property’ to be used for affordable housing
Council members also voted to purchase 27 acres of “surplus property” at 0 Clear Acre Ln. in Reno, currently owned by the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County (RTC). The city will pay $2.256 million for the property, which is located just north of U.S. Highway 395.
The property has been identified as an “ideal” location for an affordable housing project, according to Kirch.
Following the purchase, the city intends to resell the property to the Northern Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council Development Corporation at fair market value to construct affordable and workforce housing. The organization plans to build 640 units, including 440 affordable housing units and 240 workforce housing units, along with commercial space.
The trades council also owns Carville Park Apartments, a 208-unit apartment building housing low-income seniors. As with recent renovations to the Carville Park buildings, the trades council plans to use apprentices to construct the project, “which is very exciting,” Kirch said.
According to Kirch, the trades council will reimburse the city for all costs incurred, with no financial implications for the city.
Other council actions
Tattoo shops to be allowed in extended zoning
As part of a routine zoning code clean-up, city staff updated city code to allow tattoo parlors in extended zoning areas.
According to Angela Fuss, assistant director of development services, the city continued to receive feedback from the public and the Planning Commission about limited areas where tattoo parlors are permitted to operate.
They are restricted from many other business zones, such as the downtown zone, where people have said they should be allowed. Changes to the code would align the shops with other “personal services” such as beauty salons, psychics, weight reduction centers and laundromats.
“We currently do not allow them anywhere in our downtown area, which is where we’re seeing interest,” Fuss said. “Most people that want to go to a tattoo parlor aren’t looking to go to industrial Reno to get a tattoo. We’re also seeing with ear piercing, there are a lot of little kids who go to tattoo parlors to get their ears pierced so in looking at bigger picture, it makes more sense to allow tattoo parlors in the downtown.”
Council agreed with Fuss, with Schieve stating the changes were “common sense.”
Tree Protection Standards move forward
City staff also reviewed updates to the city’s tree protection standards at the request of Council member Naomi Duerr.
Updates include identifying where tree protection standards apply, providing examples on how to calculate “tree credits” and adding language requiring protected trees not be damaged.
Duerr has long been an advocate for Reno’s urban tree canopy and has continually asked to add new trees throughout the city—especially within low-income housing areas—and protect older trees from being cut down.
With these provisions, someone seeking a demolition or building permit must also provide information on what trees are on the property measuring more than 2.5-inch caliper—meaning a tree with a trunk that’s 2.5 inches in diameter, generally about 12-14 feet tall.
Applicants will also receive “tree credits” for each tree they keep within their development, which means they will be required to plant fewer trees.
Exemptions would be trees owned by single-family and duplex homeowners, trees used for defensible space planning, trees that pose safety threats, such as overhead power lines, “public nuisance” trees, and trees on the prohibited tree species list.
Duerr said she appreciated staff looking into this and suggested revisiting tree standards at the Urban Forestry Commission as it has been a “number of years, and things may have changed.”
Duerr also said there are no “prohibited” trees, although certain trees are recommended for residential areas. For example, cottonwoods are not recommended for residential areas but are for parks and wetland areas.
She asked for the code to reflect that language.
In other items
– Council approved the Reno Arts & Culture Commission 2024-25 Work Plan.
Arts and Culture allocations proposed are for $245,267 which includes annual arts and culture grants to nonprofits, city galleries, the city’s poet laureate and artist and equity expansion grants.
Proposed public art allocations include painted utility boxes, the artistic banner program and West Fourth Street roundabouts artwork.
There is a special project requested for California Avenue murals, with a proposed budget of $100,000.
– Council amended benefits provided to management employees not covered by an employee-management contract or collective bargaining agreement.
– Council approved the collective bargaining agreement between the City of Reno and the Reno Fire Department Administrators Association for July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027, costing $1.05 million to $1.56 million each year.
