During the Churchill County Planning Commission meeting last week, Senior Planner Dean Patterson presented an orientation to the Master Plan update process that will take place next year. In compliance with Nevada Revised Statutes, counties are required to update their plans every five years.
According to Patterson, the 2020 update was extensive and included several sections rewriting to rework old wording and clarify the overall text. This year, the updates are expected to be relatively minor and focus on specific sections of the plan, as well as update much of the data, focusing on the chapters that address Housing and Population, Education, and Economic Development.
The County Master Plan is a comprehensive, long-term planning document that contains a land use map that establishes a planned pattern for development, as well as the long-term goals and policies that form the foundation for the regulations that support the vision of the county leadership. The plan touches on many aspects of the community that influence or are influenced by land use.
The Master Plan is intended to promote a strong and diverse economic base through policies that protect the resources, heritage, open spaces, and agriculture of the community. The update process will include workshop meetings and public outreach to provide the public with information and opportunities for input.
Patterson suggested the specific chapters and sections to be addressed during this update, including assessing changes to provide for more housing opportunities to ensure that the availability of higher-density developments is consistent with the local demands. This section could also include allowing for small manufactured homes and tiny houses.
Other sections that may be addressed are changes to streamline child-care permitting, updating power facility regulations, and establishing mining regulations. Commissioners may also address policies for incorporating public services and facilities into code that would protect and preserve water rights and water supply. Patterson said this section currently contains 33 policies and 40 sub-policies that should be implemented into the County Code.
There are also policies to update the open space chapter that need to be addressed and the policy plan for public lands. Patterson suggested contracting with Resource Concepts to provide updates to this chapter, as they have done this same work for other counties. The county zoning districts also need to be updated to ensure that they accurately relate to actual land uses and reflect the desired future conditions for the specific locations.
Patterson also explained the need to update the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Program and the codes for effective agricultural protections. The planning department recently held a joint workshop with the sending site committee to discuss problems with the TDR program and ways to make the program more effective.
According to Patterson, there is also a need to implement Hazen and Swingle Bench policies into code, including establishing gateway design standards and incorporating parklike settings where there are springs, wetlands, streams, and sloughs. There is also an effort in the public works department to investigate the options for utility services in the Hazen-Swingle Bench Planning area.
Planning Commissioners will set a time and date to begin working on the Master Plan Update, and the process will be open to the public.
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