Park Cattle proposal will stampede master plan

Time to saddle up folks. Park Cattle Co.'s last drive is under way and we need to head 'em off at the pass. This isn't a cattle drive, though, it's a drive for housing. If we don't stop them, they're going to stampede right over the county master plan and through the commission chambers and off into a golden sunset. Golden for them anyway. Let me explain.

Park owns about 4,500 acres around Minden. About a third is east of Minden, the rest northwest of Minden. It's largely undeveloped ranch land. They've hired a new CEO with experience developing planned communities near Las Vegas. And this past year they've been working on a master plan for their property.

They've held several meetings with a select group of residents. But on Dec. 12 they had what might be called their first encounter with the opposition. Thanks to a notice in The Record-Courier more than their invited guests showed up, myself included, and we learned a lot.

It's somewhat surprising that Park Cattle feels a need for a master plan because we already have one, the county master plan, first adopted over 10 years ago and recently updated. That plan and the zoning that implements it designate 80 acres of Park's land for 5-acre lots and the rest for 19-acre lots. That would allow about 248 units on Park's property.

But as part of its implementation of the updated master plan, the county commission recently approved a 2.5 times density bonus for clustered development in the rural area, as an incentive to preserve more such land intact. So, if Park qualified, they might turn their 248 units into 620.

There was a suggestion that Park might be able to use the transfer of development rights program to increase that number, but Park has no receiving areas so that won't work. My conclusion is that 620 units is about it under the county's adopted master plan. One unit per 7.5 gross acres on agricultural and open space land isn't bad, though.

Yet on Dec. 12, after explaining how anxious Park is to work with the community and when asked the number of units their plan might entail, Park said 4,500. That's right, over seven times the maximum number allowed by the community's master plan.

The county generally uses 2.5 persons per household, so that would equate to about 10,000 additional persons, about 20 percent of our current population. The plans also include substantial new commercial areas and perhaps an office park.

Douglas County is "over zoned." We have zoning in place that would allow our 50,000 population to more than double, and most of us have a hard time understanding how we will accommodate that growth. So the last thing we need is even more residential zoning to allow 10,000 more people and more commercial centers to serve them.

Park emphasizes the supposed "benefits" of this project, which would create a series of planned communities that would encircle and subsume Minden. Sort of like the large upscale planned communities that now encircle Reno, Caughlin Ranch etc. As if that's a good thing.

At the same time, Park provides little information about the "costs" of the project (its impacts) and how they would be managed. You know, trivial stuff like traffic, water, drainage, public services, habitat loss, scenic degradation, etc.

This led one speaker to comment that Park had told us about the frosting when what we needed to understand and discuss is the cake. The cake is the huge amount of additional development proposed and the adverse effects we all know come with that.

Is there another way? Yes. Follow our adopted master plan. Adopted by the very officials who will pass judgment on this project later in 2008. Cluster the development to qualify for the 600 plus units allowed by that approach. Locate the development on the property east of Minden. Keep the prime ranch land, flood plain and natural habitat west of Highway 395 intact.

By transferring the land west of 395 to a nonprofit land trust it is quite likely that Park Cattle could reap substantial financial rewards for preserving it, in addition to the profit that would accrue from the development to the east. Preservation pays these days. And the land trust would likely assure continued ranching on the preserved land, along with protection of the natural resources there and public access to public resources, such as the Carson River. It could be a win-win.

But that's a long way from what Park has in mind at this point.

What can you do? Well, Park Cattle says it wants public input. So take a few minutes to write them and the county commission. Let them know you want the county master plan followed, no amendments, and the lands west of 395 preserved, but that you also support Park Cattle's right to develop the 600 plus units that the master plan allows, clustered on land east of Minden in a manner fully consistent with our plans and regulations. And to the standards of quality Park has already promised.

Of course if you see it differently let them know that too. Your comments needn't be fancy or lengthy, just a few words to state your position. A post card would do.

Park Cattle Company, 1300 Buckeye Rd., Suite A, Minden 89423

Douglas County Commission, P.O. Box 218, Minden 89423

And plan to attend Park's next meeting on Jan. 23, details to follow in The R-C I'm sure.

It would be nice to think that once the master plan was adopted we could sit back and count on it being followed. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the history here. Vigilance is required. But I'd like to think that if we speak out clearly in support of a common goal our officials will listen and do what's right. Maybe Park Cattle will listen too.