Truckee Meadows Growth Task Force

On July 13, 2004, the Washoe Board of County Commissioners (BCC) expressed support for the creation of a Growth Management Task Force to be created in lieu of placing a measure on the November 2004 Ballot regarding growth management issues.

At the June 22, 2004 BCC meeting, two Washoe County residents ( Susan Lynn, Public Resource Associates and Doug Smith, Scenic Nevada) spoke under Public Comment to request that a question be placed on the November 2004 Ballot regarding more effective growth management in the Truckee Meadows region.

On July, 13, 2004, the BCC received testimony from representatives of the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN) in support of the creation of a Growth Management Task Force in lieu of placing a measure on the ballot regarding growth management issues. Susan Lynn of Public Resource Associates and Doug Smith of Scenic Nevada also spoke in favor of the creation of such a task force. The BCC expressed support for the task force and voted against placing a measure on the ballot.

Mission Statement
The Truckee Meadows Growth Task Force brings together a group of community members with diverse perspectives to gather and evaluate information about the impact & consequences of the growth in the region and to provide recommendations to the appropriate governmental entities that will ensure an enviable quality of life, economically and environmentally in the Truckee Meadows now and in the years to come.

Truckee Meadows Growth task Force Steering Committee

Affordable Housing
Bob Nielson, Shelter Properties, Inc.

Construction/Development
John Breternitz - Q & D Construction
Terry Reynolds - Wingfield Nevada Group
Tim Ruffin - Colliers International
Par Tolles - Trammel Crow Company

Education
Tim Griffin - Retired WCSD Principal
John Lilley, President, UNR

Environment
Susan Lynn, Public Resource Associates
Stacey Lomer - Scenic Nevada - Architect
Tina Nappe - Activist
Doug Smith, Chairman, Scenic Nevada

Gaming/Tourism/Recreation
Stephen Ascuaga - John Ascuaga's Nugget
Phillip Satre - Harrah's Entertainment, Inc.
Steve Trounday - Reno Hilton
Lynn Thompson - RSCVA

General Public
Lynn Atcheson
Jesse Hall, Retired WCSD Principal
David Lan - UNR FireAnts Terra Escence Inc. CollegeAlley.Com
Theresa Navarro - Dickson Realty
Bob Fulkerson - Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN)

General Business
Valerie Glenn - Rose/Glenn Group
John Kirsch - Sportif USA

Labor Steve Muchicko - Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters

Meetings Date, Time & Location Day and Time of Meetings: First and Third Thursdays - 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Place of Meetings: Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce Office Sierra Nevada Board Room 1 East First Street, 16th Floor Reno, NV

A community coalition is looking for ways to encourage sustainable growth, which it hopes will ensure the environmental as well as economic health of the Truckee Meadows. The Truckee Meadows Growth Task Force (TMGTF) was forged by leaders of Scenic Nevada, the Economic Development Association of Western Nevada (EDAWN) and the Reno Sparks Chamber of Commerce at a recent meeting of the Washoe County Commission.

Scenic Nevada Chairman Doug Smith attended that June 22 session in support of a proposed advisory ballot measure suggested by Susan Lynn, of the Truckee Meadows Yacht Club. The proposed text of the ballot measure was, “Shall the Nevada Legislature amend the local land use laws in Washoe County to more effectively limit growth within sustainable natural resource constraints, and ensure adequate, fundable levels of service and infrastructure (such as schools, fire and police protection, roads, water and sewer)?”

TMGTF Leaders assemble outside the chambers of the Sparks City Council, where they recently met to give an update on the group’s progress.

Scenic’s chairman supported Lynn’s measure and also suggested a task force composed of diverse community interests to “study growth and how to sustain our quality of life.” “The Truckee Meadows must address growth management before it is too late, otherwise we will be faced with urban sprawl, which can never be repaired in the decades to come,” Smith said.

Others at the meeting voiced similar concerns saying they want the Truckee Meadows to continue to be a place where they wanted to live 20 years from now. Business leaders, developers and builders attending the county commission meeting agreed with the idea of forming the task force.

Since that session, the task force has held meetings twice monthly to identify issues and find common ground. Task force leaders also attended the Sierra Business Council’s recent annual conference held locally at the Siena Hotel Spa Casino. There members looked at different ideas and methods for developing community interest in finding meaningful solutions on growth.

From October through early December, the group focused on recruiting members. Out of 60 applications submitted, 22 people were selected to join the task force. Now the group is holding meetings to further define its mission and role, learning about the issues involved in achieving sustainable growth and identifying potential solutions and recommendations for the community.

Members meet from 4 to 6 p.m. on the first and third Thursdays, Chamber Offices, 16th Floor of Reno City Hall. Most recently a delegation of TMGTF returned to the county commissioners and the chambers of the Reno and Sparks city councils to report on its progress.

At each government session, the delegates said that after their groundwork was accomplished, they might need to return to request staff time and financing for the strategies they develop.