Open space plan stalled again

The open space element to the Carson City's master plan is becoming the plan that could not be adopted.

The plan hit another delay at a recent Regional Planning Commission meeting.

In a special planning commission meeting meant to push the open space plan to adoption, the plan was approved by the four commissioners present at the meeting.

"The problem is this is the one exception that takes two-thirds of the total membership to be approved," community development director Walt Sullivan said. "That equates to 4.62 commissioners and even though they approved it, we didn't have the five necessary 'aye' votes."

The plan was set to be approved by supervisors at Thursday's board of supervisors meeting. The new schedule pushes the plan's adoption to Jan. 6.

The planning commission complete with at least five members would revisit the plan for a third time Monday, Sullivan promised.

Open space committee members had hoped to see the plan in place by Nevada Day.

A technicality in city code stopped the open space element to the city's master plan from being heard by the planning commission in September. The code was amended and the open space plan was supposed to be in place by the end of 1999.

Open space planning has been in the works since the passage of the Quality of Life initiative in 1996. Question 18 authorized a quarter of 1 percent sales tax increase to fund open space, parks and trails. The tax raises about $1.7 million a year with 40 percent going towards open space, 40 percent towards parks and 20 percent for maintenance of new park projects. The committee will have about $700,000 a year to spend on open space acquisition.