My family and I are the owners of the Andersen Ranch on the west side of Carson City. Thousands of negative and emotional words have been written and spoken and posted on blogs about a proposed project — The Vintage at Kings Canyon — that would develop part of our property. We hope you will consider the few words that follow to better understand our vision for the future of the Andersen Ranch.
We have always been good citizens and good neighbors and we didn’t wish to enter the fray. However, when we read comments in blog posts and other media that defame our family, misstate our values and mischaracterize our plans for our land, we can no longer be silent. When a matter of public interest is being discussed in public meetings and in the media, all voices should be heard, not just those who oppose anything but the status quo. The plans for part of the Andersen Ranch bring change, but honor the long-established master planning and zoning of the land and seek to respect the interests of our neighbors. Sadly, the loudest voices in opposition seek to mislead to achieve their goal of preventing our family from using our land in the way it has been master planned and zoned for more than 30 years. One Nevada Appeal opinion written recently stated the Vintage “would destroy one of the last sizable parcels of open space on the west side.” What the writer fails to mention is that he owns a home in a west side development in an area that was an open ranch not so long ago. Some bloggers and opinion writers, motivated by self-interest, forget that the reason the Andersen Ranch is one of the last open spaces on the west side is they and the thousands of residents who now surround the Andersen Ranch filled most of those bucolic meadows with their own homes and traffic.
A blogger against the Vintage project recently directed his vitriol toward the Andersen Family. Reacting to a recent planning meeting where another property, distant from and not related to the Vintage, was on the agenda he declared “The reason why Andersen is on the Planning Commission agenda should be a sobering blow...... Indeed it looks like they are interested in selling to a developer only, and only because they seem to retain money-making interest....They are definitely interested in high density housing and nothing but..”
Well the facts are: 1. We have no “money making” interest in that property beyond its sale. 2. Under current zoning this property can accommodate nearly 360 apartment units and the structures could be three stories but the the developer is proposing a residential development of two story structures with a density of around 40 percent of what’s permitted. If we were “interested in high density housing and nothing but,” we could have accepted much higher offers we received from high density developers. In any event, the blogger is trying to use attacks on that one project to create ill-will toward us and the unrelated Vintage plan for part of our ranch.
As the proposed ranch development evolves we’re troubled by these attacks on our family. We have always and will always continue to operate under the rules. We have been stewards of the land for 140 years. Here’s our story:
In the 1870s my great grandfather, Hans Marcus Andersen, came from Denmark to Eagle Valley. He fell in love with it and immediately returned to Denmark for his bride, Christiana. They bought a farm in 1876 that ran from King Street north beyond Ash Canyon Creek and the V & T Railroad line. They had a large family and improved the farm and raised sheep, pigs and milk cows. They planted fields of potatoes and hops and rows of apple, pear and plum trees.
When my grandfather, Harry Andersen, inherited it in the early 1920s he had dreams of making it a cattle ranch. He immediately began to build a herd of Herefords and began to purchase neighboring fields to graze his cattle and raise hay.
In the 1950s my father, Andy Andersen, inherited the ranch and from that time on I spent my summers and autumns on the ranch with my grandparents. I became my dad’s business partner in the 1990s and took over full responsibility in 2006. My initial goal was, and remains today, to preserve as much of the ranch as possible. While we have never pledged to keep our property open space, we have had several meetings with Carson City Open Space over the years but funds weren’t available to secure the land so discussions ended. We have since contacted multiple conservation organizations, but none of the contacts led to anything viable.
The encroachment of development around the ranch, where the “Friends of Andersen Ranch” reside, has limited its value as a working ranch. Ironically, these people live today in homes that brought high-density residential development that eliminated many of the beautiful meadows and open spaces of that part of the city. Having now surrounded our ranch, they expect us to use our land differently than theirs, even though it’s zoned for the same purpose.
In the 1950s, I rode with my grandfather many times from the ranch to our leased summer grazing land at Spooner Lake. Those were memorable rides, and this same ride was described beautifully by Robert Laxalt in his book “The Basque Hotel” where he writes of a ride he took with his dad, Dominique, to reach their summer sheep camp at Marlette Lake. I wanted to recreate that opportunity for the citizens of Carson City, especially students, and create an historical “Capitol to Crest” trail from Mountain Street to the Tahoe Crest. I thought it was tragic and misleading the “Mountain Street Trailhead” was in reality a “trailhead to nowhere.” In all our discussions with the city and potential developers we have committed and insisted that whatever will become of the land, there will be multi-use public trail extending from Mountain Street to connect with the Open Space trails west of the ranch.
We also have agreed to contribute land for a multi-use path on our Heritage property along the northern edge of Kings Canyon Road. The family also has been working with the city to grant an easement to accommodate a critical pipeline to deliver Minden water to the treatment facilities west of town for the benefit of the citizens of our city. We plan to continue to operate the 50-acre Heritage parcel that stretches from Kings Canyon Road to some distance north of Ash Canyon Creek as a working ranch much like the original “Danish Farm.”
Under its current master plan designation and zoning the entire ranch is entitled to approximately 330 residential lots. This density can be achieved without the need for a master plan amendment or zone change and with far fewer controls regarding design of the project or the size, quality or occupancy of the homes. Our family rejected higher offers for our land because the density or the type of project proposed by the buyer wasn’t in keeping with our vision for the ranch. When we were approached by a developer who was committed to the Capital to Crest trail and the preservation of open space within the project, we were pleased. Our family has embraced a project that assures strict design criteria; careful attention to open space and amenities in the project, and restrictions on who can live there: Limiting occupancy to persons 55 and older greatly reduces the impact on neighbors, traffic, noise and the demand for city services. And contrary to what has been implied, 55-and-older communities aren’t illegal or undesirable. The Vintage PUD continues to evolve as the developer responds to reasonable suggestions and recommendations. The final plan will adhere to the master planning and zoning guidelines and processes.
A master plan isn’t a tool to prevent change, but is meant to be a mechanism to achieve orderly, beneficial change. All landowners are both restricted and benefited by the master plan, whether they be owners of existing homes or owners of undeveloped residential land. No one has an absolute right to prevent the desired use of another’s land. The Andersen Family has rights that are just as important as the rights of its neighbors, and those rights must be respected, too. What many of the “Friends of Anderson Ranch” and the writers and bloggers are really advocating is that the master plan designation and zoning of our property be changed to prohibit any development whatsoever. That would violate the spirit and letter of the master plan and zoning and our rights as citizens of this city. We live in a democracy, and also under the rule of law. Our family respects those laws and processes, and ask only our neighbors and city leaders do the same.
Kim Andersen Colard along with her family own the Andersen Ranch on the west side of Carson City.
