New industries and major employers bring the promise of prosperity to rural communities. In pursuing economic growth, many communities face a difficult challenge: accommodating an influx of workers without an adequate supply of homes.
This is happening in our own backyard. The Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center in Storey County has transformed from a quiet stretch of land into a 107,000-acre hub attracting household names like Tesla, Panasonic, and Google. Similarly, Governor Lombardo’s leadership in the “lithium loop” initiative further solidifies Northern Nevada’s status as a key player in the clean energy economy. Job numbers are growing, innovation is booming, and the eyes of global industries are watching.
While economic opportunity has arrived, housing hasn’t – not at the scale needed and not in the places that need it most. Now, state lawmakers are pursuing legislation, SB 391, which would limit housing options and exacerbate the supply shortage, especially in rural areas where we are seeing such incredible job growth.
If enacted, SB 391 would restrict local governments' ability to partner with large-scale residential developers—those with the capacity and capital to build the amount of workforce housing needed to power these new industries.
For all its commercial success, Storey County has just 1,934 dwelling units, a decrease from 2007 units that existed in 2012, with an occupancy rate greater than 87%, according to the latest Master Plan Amendment document available. “The County must focus on increasing the supply of affordable housing options, including workforce housing, to support the influx of employees and prevent displacement of current residents,” said the county’s 2024 master plan amendment report.
Instead, lawmakers want to limit desperately needed residential development, straining the housing demand even further in neighboring towns like Sparks and Fernley. Population projections show Fernley may double in size over the next decade, yet infrastructure and housing development are falling behind.
When rural areas attract large employers without building enough homes, they risk turning an economic boom into a long-term bust. Without a place to live, workers go elsewhere, and, eventually, so do the businesses.
Studies conducted by the Nevada Housing Division and the Guinn Center highlight the area’s overall housing needs and offer market-based solutions that will attract developers. Despite the overwhelming data-backed need for more housing supply, some state leaders are scapegoating an industry that provides viable solutions to address the affordability crisis. The evidence is clear: private sector investment increases rental supply, moderates prices, and brings liquidity to strained housing markets.
When professionally managed housing providers invest in underbuilt areas, they bring more than just homes. They often support vital infrastructure —transportation, water systems, broadband, power — that local governments alone can’t afford. These improvements benefit entire regions and align with long-term master plans. Developers also pay impact fees and property taxes that support schools and local services, easing the burden on tightening public budgets. As the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found, professionally managed housing providers played a stabilizing role in the housing market during the 2006-2014 period.
This isn’t just a theory or a history lesson—it’s happening across the country today in states like Utah, Florida, and Minnesota. Public-private partnerships are helping rural communities leapfrog decades of underinvestment.
Northern Nevada should be leading in this space, not falling behind, and the Nevada Legislature should be asking how to accelerate development responsibly.
Let’s not allow the housing crisis to quash the opportunity we’ve worked so hard to create. Let’s choose progress, not paralysis.
Randi Thompson, a Public & Government Relations Consultant, is the former Nevada State Director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses
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