Reno City Council approves truck stop ban

The Reno city council approved an ordinance banning truck stop from all but industrial areas in the city. The reason this is important is Flying J has been trying to build a truck stop on 48 acres at interstate 80 and Robb Drive in Northwest Reno, the residents in the McQueen area and Somersett have been fighting the Flying J proposed truck stop for months.  You can visit the website www.notruckstop.com for more information on this volatile issue. According to the attorneys for the Flying J they are being forced into litigation to try and get a special permit to build the truck stop. Under the new ordinance, truck stops would only be allowed in industrial districts and require a special use permit. Boomtown is asking the City to be grandfathered or exempted from the new ordinance. Stay tuned as I�m sure this will not be the end of this matter.

STOP THE TRUCKSTOP! Concerned residents of Somersett take heed!

The possibility of a truck stop near our neighborhood is REAL!  Five years ago, Flying J Truck Stops purchased a 48 acre parcel of land on the south side of the Robb Drive I-80 exit/entrance ramp.  That area is zoned LLR1 - Large Lot RESIDENTIAL 1 Acre.  It was so zoned when they purchased it.  They will need a change in zoning OR a variance to go ahead with their project.  Of note, they felt confident enough to purchase the parcel believing that an ordinance change or variance would be readily obtainable.  And, they have reportedly paid the NVDOT $1,000,000 for access rights to the I-80 exit.

The blights that tend to accompany truck stops are well known: drug dealing, prostitution, fuel spills and air pollution just to mention a few. Flying J has a history of fuel spills – the Truckee River is too valuable a resource, and too close to this site to risk going ahead with this project! Add to that the danger of accidents that trucks will create for residents of NW Reno who use this exit on a daily basis for business commutes and shopping trips to other parts of Reno.

Recent history has seen big business overcome the overwhelming desires of NW Reno residents AND the Reno City Council:  Wal-Mart and K-Mart both obtained court rulings that allowed them to build in our community.  THE DIFFERENCE?  Both Wal-Mart and K-mart sites were already zoned for commercial use.  The Robb Drive parcel in question is zoned RESIDENTIAL.  At the November 28 City Council meeting, a Flying J representative made a not-so-veiled threat of legal action against the council to attain their goal. Zoning changes and variances are a way of business in the commercial real estate world, but the fact that their property was and is zoned RESIDENTIAL should make their case that much weaker. 

Current city ordinances do not include a definition of “truck stop”, with explanation of physical plant requirements and boundary setbacks. Thus a proposed ordinance definition of “truck stop” was introduced by city planning staff, which the City Council unanimously approved in its first reading at their public meeting on November 28.  That definition requires a minimum buffer of 1/4-mile between the boundary of a truck stop and a residential neighborhood.  This 1/4-mile buffer requirement would essentially negate the possibility of a truck stop at Robb Drive.  A procedural second reading and vote is on the City Council meeting agenda for December 12.  In the meantime, it is safe to assume that Flying J representatives are doing whatever they can do to ultimately get their truck stop approved.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

�         Log onto www.notruckstop.com and check out the links and resources to information on this issue.  This site was built and is maintained by a concerned resident of NW Reno.  It is full of pertinent information and useful links. Tell your neighbors about it!

�         Write to the city council NOW. Tell them you are: In favor of the proposed ordinance definition of a truck stop (with 1/4 mile buffer zones as cited above); and against a truck stop at Robb Drive & I-80. The above website has a link to their addresses.

�         Attend the next Neighborhood Advisory Board (NAB) meeting, Thursday January 17th at 6:00 pm, at the Fire Station on Mae Anne and Sharlands. Flying J will review their truck stop proposal. 

�         Check out the City of Reno website, www.cityofreno.com, for links to detailed information, such as city ordinances, City Council meetings and agendas � and meet your city council members. 

If you have any questions, I can try to answer them.  Email bypollard@aol.com, or call at 473-2872.

Bill Pollard – Somersett Resident

Reno Real Estate a Very Good Investment

If you live in Reno and own a home, you have made one of smartest investments you can make. Typically homes in Reno have gone up in value about 5% a year, over the last 3 years prices have doubled and we are now in a correction, which is normal. Let’s take an example, if you would have invested $20,000 in a home worth $200,000 at a 5% annual appreciation. That $200,000 home would appreciate $10,000 in value the first year, earning $10,000 on an investment of $20,000 is a whopping 50% return. In contrast, if you put $20,000 in the stock market getting a 5% gain would yield only a $1000 profit.

Looking at it another way over a longer period of time, if you put $10,000 into the stock market in 1996, the average annual return would make that investment worth $21,500 today, an increase  of $11,500. The median home price in 1996 was $140,000, today, that same home would have gained nearly $100,000 in value.

Reno Real estate is typically a more stable investment than its volatile counterparts. Keep this market in perspective and remember this is a great time to buy. If you are a first time home owner this is an exciting time for you to get into your first piece of real estate, call me today and let’s get started.

Somersett Commercial Center Opens

 About a month ago the new center opened in Somersett adjacent to the town center and Canyon Nine golf course.  Anchored by the very successful Whispering Vine wine shop and the Gourmet Roundabout Market, the response has been overwhelming by the residents of Somersett.  This Whispering Vine is a lot bigger than its original wine shop on Mayberry and McCarran. It also has a full bar and a drive up window for coffee.  We are seeing a lot of people from the Caughlin Ranch area where the originial Whispering Vine is.  They are coming over to the Somersett area to enjoy the new and improved atmosphere.  At the new center there is also an outdoor stage and office space where Dickson Realty has opened a branch office to much success.  This new center has been, and will continue to, attract home buyers to the Somersett lifestyle which includes, in my opinion, one of the top two golf courses in the Reno Sparks area.

Triple A Baseball Comes To Reno

The Reno City Council approved a deal to bring the Arizona Side Winders to downtown Reno.  SK Partners will be building a first class stadium on land that has, until now, been ignored and abandoned.  Downtown Reno will finally have a direction to build on.   With all the shops, movie theaters, restaurants and White Water Park that have taken place as part of the Truckee River restoration the new baseball team will be the icing on the cake. 

Reno Real Estate in downtown will never be the same, with 5 condo projects currently under way in downtown Reno the gentrification of that area has had a huge kick start. 

The cost of the project will be paid from a tax on rental cars in Reno and any over runs will be paid by the developer, SK Partners who has already spent 15 million dollars to acquire the team.  Reno baseball fans will be able to watch players that will potentially be one step away from the major leagues and marquee players that are on rehabilitation.  In baseball lingo this will be a grand slam for the downtown corridor. 

Interest rates will be cut by September 17

This is what all the policy makers are saying and I feel 99% sure that will happen when fed chair Bernard Bernanke meets with his advisors later this month. This administration has shown a willingness to keep a short leash on monitoring and stepping in when the economy gets derailed as seen when they cut the over night rates that banks loan money to each other. This market is not as bad as everyone is saying, just a thought, the house you are trying to sell for $400,000 now would have been worth $550,000 3 years ago. But the home you want to buy now for  $600,000 was worth $750,000 3 years ago, are we getting this?

Hidden real estate market

With the current inventory of Reno Sparks real estate at 13 months, (meaning at the current rate of sales it would take 13 months to sell all the homes on the market) the experts are predicting that the recovery will not begin until sometime in 2009. The problem I am seeing is there is a hidden market of people who want to sell but because of weak prices they are waiting. On the smallest amount of good news there will be another wave of sellers putting their homes on the market, further adding to the current inventory. Just another reminder buyers that this a great time to get into the Reno real estate market.