Opposition mounts in Carson Valley to Grandview Estates building increase

MINDEN - Carson Valley businessman and landholder Don Bently is leading the charge against a move to increase the density of a proposed East Valley subdivision from 182 units to 432.

In a half-page advertisement in today's Record-Courier, Bently urged county residents to contact their commissioners to protest what he called a "taxpayer-fronted idea" to expand water, sewer and roads on a large scale to the proposed Grandview Estates subdivision in East Valley.

"It appears that Douglas County taxpayers would make these 250 (additional) units possible by building or financing water and sewer facilities from Douglas County plants all the way to Grandview. This would apparently be accomplished through direct financing, tax dollars, bonded indebtedness or other use of the financial full faith and credit of Douglas County," Bently said in his ad.

According to Bently, Grandview Estates developer Steve Mothersell would make an additional $5 million in profit from the extra units, on the backs of county taxpayers.

Bently, whose company owns property on three sides of the subdivision, said he would be a prime beneficiary of a sewer, water and road system, but he thinks it would be wrong. He said he is also against increasing the density.

Bently and the Town of Minden offered to supply water and sewer for the original 182-unit project, but those plans were abandoned when the county came up with the sewer, water and road expansion.

The solution, Bently said, is to offer the Grandview subdivision a receiving area for the 15 to 16 additional lots to offset the cost of installing active septic systems to remove the nitrates from the water.

"This would rectify the county error in not requiring active denitrification systems when it gave the Grandview subdivision a bonus of 16 extra lots," Bently said.

During earlier hearings, the county and some surrounding property owners championed the idea of a community water and sewer system. Residents expressed concern about a drop in the aquifer and water quality impacts that could result from the large number of individual wells and septic systems that were proposed with the project.

Mothersell countered, however, that to make the project economically feasible, he would have to increase the density by 250 units.

At earlier public hearings, residents told commissioners that the extra homes will bring traffic and other undesirable impacts. They also objected to smaller lot sizes, which could range from 6,000 square feet to 2 acres.

County commissioners are set to take public comment on Thursday, and the item is to go back to the planning commission Sept. 12. Mothersell is seeking a master plan amendment to reclassify the 519 acres from rural residential to receiving area.

The item will go back to the county commission Oct. 5.

The meeting begins at 1 p.m. in the Douglas County Administration Building (old courthouse) in Minden, but the agenda item is scheduled for later in the afternoon.

IF YOU GO

What: Douglas County Commission meeting

Where: 1616 8th St. in Minden

When: Meeting begins at 1 p.m.