With developable property going fast in the capital, members of the Board of Supervisors served notice Thursday their eyes are on some of the federal property in Carson City.
The city was advised by consultants working on a master plan that total estimates of how big Carson City can grow haven't changed much since the last plan was put in place more than a decade ago.
Ben Herman of Clarion Associates said the capital has about 2,100 acres of privately owned urban and suburban land available for development. That is after all the federal property, wetlands, parks, open space, agricultural areas and unsuitable areas are removed from the equation.
He said that translates to about 5,500 more dwellings for about 14,000 more people. That would bring Carson City's total population to about 70,000.
Mayor Marv Teixeira said that's about the same as projected in the city master plan created more than a decade ago. He said that will cap the city's future development unless something else changes and suggested the city talk to U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which owns the vast majority of undeveloped Carson City property.
Supervisor Shelley Aldean said if they're talking about land in Carson City, "the federal government is a key component." She said the key is to find "a more convenient way of making exchanges" for federal land because the existing process is cumbersome, expensive and time consuming.
Mark Kimbrough of the city's planning commission agreed, saying he wants to see an inventory of the lands BLM thinks it might be willing to release.
"Then the disagreement can start over view-shed and the developable properties," he said.
Herman said he thinks BLM officials already have a clear idea which properties they're willing to talk about releasing but that "their position is the community needs to take the lead on that." He also said the BLM process for transferring property out of federal hands and into the private sector is much simpler than, for example, U.S. Forest Service rules.
The discussion was part of a joint meeting between the supervisors and planning commission with city community development staff and consultants who are developing "Envision Carson City" - the capital master plan.
Carson City includes a total of 93,354 acres. More than 75,000 acres of that is public land, almost all of it BLM property. While the majority of that land is too rugged and steep or otherwise unsuitable for development, city officials say there are a number of sizable blocks of federal property which are not only suitable for development but, in some cases, adjacent to existing development.
The planners have spent the past four months creating what Herman termed "a snapshot of Carson City - where the city is today." The purpose of the meeting was to give consultants and staff some direction on the next phase of the master plan - which he defined as "where would we like to be." The final phase would be "implementation - how do we get there."
Throughout the process, Herman and city lead planner Lee Plemel said they intend to gather public comments through neighborhood meetings and surveys.
The process is supposed to be completed by the end of this year.
Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at nevadaappeal@sbcglobal.net or 687-8750.
