Fallon isn't just growing in terms of homes and residents. Its land base is expanding, too, usually by just four acres here or 10 acres there.
Last week, the city grew by a far bigger chunk, however, annexing 75 acres south of its boundary line, an area that has been largely overlooked by developers who have focused on the city's north and west sides.
Developers are planning a total of about 300 homes on the land just north of Wildes and west of Harrigan Road.
Fallon City Engineer Larry White said the plans are significant because they will extend city utility lines and infrastructure across the New River drain Ð a ditch integral to the valley's irrigation system Ð and that will open up the way for more development south of the city.
"There's certainly potential for more property along there to be annexed," he said.
But what's the unknown factor is still "will customers follow?" said Justin Schneider, a Fallon businessman looking to develop a 25-acre portion of the newly annexed property. Most of Fallon's new homes are popping up west of the city, closer to Fernley and Reno.
In a city where Realtors say it has become customary for homes to sell the day they're put up for sale, Schneider is banking that customers won't mind going a mile or two east.
He hasn't yet submitted a tentative map for the 94 homes planned on the corner of Harrigan and Wildes.
And last week, the same day the property was annexed, Schneider saw the city council approve an ordinance requiring developers to contribute 1.12 acre-feet of water rights or a $3,000 fee per new home.
It's common for municipalities in parched Northern Nevada to require water or money for the privilege of hooking onto the water system.
For Schneider's proposed development, the new charge will add nearly $300,000 to the cost of developing the property.
The fee won't put a stop on the development, he said, if only because it will just get passed on to consumers.
"Anymore, the cost of everything keeps going up," he said. "I just hate to see what it's all going to do to home prices. First-time homebuyers are getting sticker-shocked."
Contact reporter Cory McConnell at cmcconnell@lahontanvalleynews.com
