The massive Daybreak development will worsen flooding along the Steamboat Creek. It will destroy the natural flood storage capacity in the area and divert runoff downstream toward communities to the North. It will mostly fill the area from Damonte Ranch to Hidden Valley with 4,700 homes. The Reno City Council will consider approving the development on 9/11. This is not just an issue for the Damonte Ranch neighbors. Steamboat Creek flooding can close the airport and block access to Route 80. This is a regional issue for the future of the Truckee Meadows. AGENDA
PICK YOUR APPROACH …
You can e-mail one or all of the City Council Members.
- Mayor Hillary Schieve; schieveh@reno.gov
- Council Member Jenny Brekhus, Ward 1; brekhusj@reno.gov
- Council Member Naomi Duerr, Ward 2; duerrn@reno.gov
- Council Member Oscar Delgado, Ward 3; delgadoo@reno.gov
- Council Member Bonnie Weber, Ward 4; weberb@reno.gov
- Council Member Neoma Jardon, Ward 5; jardonn@reno.gov
- Council Member Devon Reese, At Large; reesed@reno.gov
You can fill out a public comment form online and pick “oppose” and “no” for speaking in person. This will be agenda item D.1 on the 9/11/19 meeting agenda. LINK
Some of the city council members (Delgado for sure) have Facebook pages. It’s another place to express your opinion.
You can write the City Clerk, Ashley Turner, who will faithfully log your position and your comments. … cityclerk@reno.gov or turneya@reno.gov
You can make one or all of the following points.
- This is the last “natural sponge” to absorb runoff and store flooding from Steamboat Creek.
- This project is not compliant with current zoning or the master plan (Re-Imagine Reno).
- Technical flood control questions from the Truckee Meadows Flood Authority have not been addressed.
- There has been no comprehensive testing for Mercury on the property.
- Traffic along Mira Loma near Veterans’ Parkway is already dangerously heavy.
- There is no plan for an additional fire station which will be needed.
There will be public comment allowed on the specific Daybreak issue. If you want to go and speak, you can speak at the beginning of the meeting during “General Public Comment” or later on the specific agenda item D.1 which is instructions to staff regarding the Daybreak ruling.
“Evil succeeds when good men people are silent.” Make your voice heard! Be counted as one opposed to this dangerous and destructive development. Do it for your love of the Truckee Meadows. Do it for yourself.
See the previous post for more detailed information on the development and the current status. Note: I was mistaken that the court case was a petition for judicial review. It was rather a civil case for damages brought by the developer against the city for wrongly “taking” their property by imposing unreasonable restrictions.
Washoe Residents for Appropriate Planning 
Steve,
Today, I sent the following to all City Council members.
Esteemed Council Members,
I grew up in Colorado Springs where I witnessed decades of unchecked development presided over by a City Council and a County Commission whose members were either developers themselves or beholden to them in innumerable ways. What I came to learn during that time was that Colorado Springs was merely one among countless municipalities throughout the western United States experiencing the same rush toward unsustainable growth propelled by unfettered greed. What I didn’t fully grasp at the time – but has now emerged to critically threaten us all – was the damage we are doing to our planet.
While living in South Meadows in 2017-18 (I now live in Cold Springs), I saw first hand what the damage done by out of control development can mean to a vast wetland that goes by the fairly innocuous name of Truckee Meadows. I began to understand something I had never really thought about before and that is once the precious asset of our wetlands is gone, they can never be replaced.
As my insight into the realities of the environment of Truckee Meadows grew, when the consideration of approving or rejecting the proposal by Newport Pacific Land came before the City Council, I felt compelled to act. I researched NP Land and, prior to the scheduled February 8, 2018, public comments session at the Grand Sierra, I emailed NP Land (see the following).
———–
from:
Bob Stapp
to:
jpatterson@npland.com,
cbley@npland.com,
bgross@npland.com,
mschlesinger@npland.com,
mburkes@npland.com,
nshih@npland.com
date:
Feb 6, 2018, 4:38 PM
subject:
Daybreak/Butler Ranch/Reno
Gentlemen:
While I plan to attend the Thursday, February 8, meeting at the Grand Sierra that will take comments from the community regarding your proposed Daybreak/Butler Ranch development in Reno, I want to take this opportunity to make my views known to NP Land in advance.
As I’m sure you know, the vast majority of the Truckee Meadows is now or has been wetland. The small wetland preserves that remain after the city’s explosive growth are sadly insufficient to mitigate the unpredictable but nonetheless inevitable heavy rain and snow that without warning can impact the area. The flooding of this past winter and spring is a case study of that phenomenon and it doesn’t take much looking back at the historical record to see how many other such instances have swept through the area.
As a relatively new resident of the South Meadows area and a newcomer to living in a wetland area, I obtained a quick education this past year on the value and purpose of wetlands, not only for flood mitigation but also for wildlife preservation. I saw first-hand how wetlands can control water flow and turn it to the most beneficial use. I also saw how drainage canals that had been stripped of vegetation ostensibly to facilitate water flow had instead become grinding torrents for soil erosion.
My early education about developers was gained in a western city where developers held sway and rapid and essentially unchecked development was the order of the day. Developers dominated the City Council and the Planning Commission and there was no development proposal that failed to pass and no land parcel that could not be sold and sub-divided. My family took root in that then-small town in 1908 and, as the person in charge of real estate certification courses at the local University, I had quite a bit of insight into how things worked.
What I observed – and have since learned is no less than the history of the western United States – is that I cannot trust a single word that comes out of a developer’s mouth. Developers have silver tongues and will promise the moon, but when the problems rear their ugly heads – and they will – the developers will be nowhere to be found and it will be the residents and the municipality that are left holding the bag.
Gentlemen, the era of unbridled development, in case you hadn’t noticed, is coming to a close. Yes, there are still tracts of pristine environment to be despoiled and billions more dollars to be banked after fleecing the rubes, but I want you to know that I will be there on Thursday evening to push back on your destructive plans.
Best regards,
Bob Stapp
South Meadows Resident
Reno, Nevada
———–
I received the following reply.
———–
from:
Chris Bley
to:
“bobstapp@gmail.com”
cc:
“Mike Draper (mike@argentumnv.com)”
date:
Feb 7, 2018, 12:03 PM
FW: Daybreak/Butler Ranch/Reno
Mr. Stapp,
First of all, thank you for your email and I am very happy that you will be attending the meeting tomorrow night at the Grand Sierra. I am the lead partner on this project and certainly hope that you come and find me so that we can speak in person.
I do feel however that a few comments/responses to your email are warranted. To begin with, I would ask that you listen to our presentation prior to making up your mind about our proposed development. That being said, I would tend to agree with many, but certainly not all, points that you make below. From a broad perspective, yes, there are bad developers but just like any other profession, there are good ones also. Just because someone is a developer, and is obviously doing it for economic reasons, does not necessarily mean that they, we, all “have silver tongues”. In fact, personally I wish I were more eloquent. Additionally, it is important to understand that development is not, at least in my career, done in the back rooms with politicians; we must clear enormous hurdles from a local, regional, state and federal perspective. Thus, even if I wanted to I would not be able to just develop as I please with no regards to the environment or community.
I completely agree with you that the wetlands are enormously important as is flood mitigation. To that extent, we have spent significant time and resources to understand their value and have designed our project to enhance, not denigrate both the wetlands and the flood mitigation. Hopefully you will have a better understanding of this once you have seen our presentation.
You are correct in that the “era of unbridled development” has come to a close – as it should. It is harder today to get approvals for development than it used to be and it continues to get tougher. But, populations do grow (especially right now in Reno) and people do need houses. I firmly believe that we are proposing a project that takes all facets into account to provide for a development that not only provides housing but just as, if not more importantly, is respectful of the land and our neighbors.
I look forward to meeting with you tomorrow night.
Regards,
Chris Bley
After the City Council rejected the NP Land request, I was astounded at NP Land’s next step. I sent them the following email to which I received no response.
———–
from:
Bob Stapp
to:
Chris Bley
date:
Feb 22, 2019, 9:06 AM
subject:
Re: FW: Daybreak/Butler Ranch/Reno
So, Chris, after all that eloquent blather about how NP Land is “respectful of the land and our neighbors,” NP Land decides to sue the City of Reno because you didn’t get your way, a suit that, if you win, will place an equal or greater burden than the development itself on the City and its residents.
Great move…! You’ve managed to convert a concerned citizen into a dedicated opponent and confirmed all of my worst beliefs about developers.
Sincerely,
Bob Stapp
———–
In closing, let me say that I am completely flabbergasted at the fact that the Reno City Council has let itself be manipulated into reconsidering this dreadful proposal by a company that is clearly unable or unwilling to face the fact that their $43M investment in the Butler Ranch property was an extremely poor decision. Please don’t be railroaded into reversing your previous wise decision.
Best regards,
Bob Stapp
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