Because of a perceived housing shortage in Washoe County, Senator Jacky Rosen has introduced the Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act.
The bill, requested in 2016 by Washoe County and the cities of Reno and Sparks, involves city officials, developers, conservationists, and various stakeholders. Mirroring the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act (SNPLMA), the Washoe bill proposes conveying 15,860 acres of public land for disposal.
Some of the land will be auctioned to developers, while an additional 3,400 acres will be for specific purposes, including roadway expansions, regional parks, and K-12 school sites. Meanwhile, all proceeds from land sales will stay within Nevada, with allocations for environmentally focused projects, Truckee River conservation, and the Nevada education fund.
The bill further mandates an evaluation of each parcel for affordable housing suitability before bringing it to market and selling below fair market value. It also decrees around 950,000 acres of public land in Northern Nevada will receive conservation designations, creating new national conservation and wilderness areas to protect them from development permanently.
If it passes, it would be the most massive federal conservation effort in Nevada since the Black Rock Desert Act of 2000, preserving 30 percent of Washoe County, aligning it with the Biden administration’s “America the Beautiful initiative.” It also allocates approximately 20,000 acres in trust for the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, and the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California.
Economic development advocates, local elected officials, and environmentalists welcome the bill. However, Reno City Council member Jenny Brekhus criticizes the model as outdated and promoting sprawl. Conservationists also express concerns about the tradeoff model, suggesting it may not be the most environmentally friendly approach.
The final bill underwent changes based on feedback during a comment period. The changes include reducing the conveyance size and adding conservation easements in response to local entities’ requests.
The bill faces the challenge of gaining approval in the Senate. While many state-specific bills have passed with unanimous consent, the current Senate climate may necessitate incorporating it into a larger legislative package.
Rosen expects help from the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto chairs the public lands subcommittee.
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