Minutes of the Nevada
Senate Committee on Government Affairs, Seventy-Seventh Session
April 3, 2013
The agenda of the meeting was to discuss five bills. One of
them was Senate Bill 272 (SB272): Provides for the revision of the boundary
line between Storey County and Washoe
County. (BDR 20-840)
This is an html version of the discussion of SB272 only. For
the minutes for all of the bills discussed click here.
Jed Margolin
Virginia City
Highlands, NV
8/10/2013
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
Senator David R. Parks, Chair
Senator Pat Spearman, Vice Chair
Senator Mark A. Manendo
Senator Pete Goicoechea
Senator Scott Hammond
GUEST LEGISLATORS PRESENT:
Senator Joseph P. Hardy, Senatorial District No. 12
Senator Justin C. Jones, Senatorial District No. 9
Senator Ben Kieckhefer, Senatorial
District No. 16
Senator Michael Roberson, Senatorial District No. 20
Senator James A. Settelmeyer,
Senatorial District No. 17
Senator Debbie Smith, Senatorial District No. 13
Assemblyman John C. Ellison, Assembly District No. 33
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:
Patrick Guinan, Policy Analyst
Heidi Chlarson, Counsel
Martha Barnes, Committee Secretary
OTHERS PRESENT:
Garrett Gordon, Sunny Hills Ranchos
Vincent Griffith, P.E., President, Reno Engineering
Corporation
Senate Committee on Government Affairs
Greg Hess, Storey
County
Bill Sjovangen, Chair, Board of County Commissioners,
Storey County
John J. Slaughter, Washoe County Commission
Juanita Cox, Citizens in Action
Jessica Satre, Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce
Tray Abney, The Chamber, Reno, Sparks, Northern Nevada
Lindsay D. Knox
Geoffrey Lawrence, Deputy Policy Director, Nevada Policy
Research Institute
Anthony Fiannaca, Sparks Florist,
Inc.
Jack Mallory, Southern Nevada Building
and Construction Trades Council
Alan H. Glover, Clerk/Recorder, Carson City
Larry Burtness, Recorder, Washoe County
Debbie Conway, Recorder, Clark County
Diana Alba, Clerk, Clark County
Margaret Flint, Chapel of the Bells; Arch of Reno Chapel; Silver Bells
Wedding Chapel
Karen Ellison, Recorder, Douglas County;
President, Recorder’s Association of Nevada
Jennifer Chapman, Recorder, Storey County
Mary Milligan, Recorder, Lyon County
Ron Dreher, Peace Officers
Research Association of Nevada; Washoe County Public Attorney’s Association;
Washoe School Principals’ Association
Rusty McAllister, Professional Firefighters of Nevada
Priscilla Maloney, American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees
Brian O’Callaghan, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
Chair Parks:
There are five bills on the agenda today plus a work
session. I will open the hearing on Senate Bill (S.B.) 272.
SENATE
BILL 272: Provides for the revision of the boundary line between Storey County
and Washoe County. (BDR 20-840)
Senator Ben Kieckhefer
(Senatorial District No. 16):
I am proposing an amendment (Exhibit C)
to S.B. 272 prepared by the Legal Division of the Legislative Counsel Bureau. I
will refer to proposed Amendment 7897 while testifying on the bill. This piece
of legislation was brought to me by a constituent who owns property straddling
the Washoe and Storey County boundary line in southeast Washoe County.
The owner would like to develop the property in a mixed-use fashion that
includes both residential and commercial uses. From a services
prospective, it ties into the South Truckee Meadows area in the terms of
municipal services. Washoe
County would be the
appropriate jurisdiction if commercial and residential developments occur on
the property.
Following a discussion with representatives from Storey and Washoe Counties,
there is some interest in seeing another piece of property move between the two
counties that is also reflected in this bill. Senate Bill 272 allows the Board
of Commissioners of Storey and Washoe
Counties to make the
decision regarding a change to their boundary lines. The counties need to reach
an agreement and must do so within a couple of years. If the decision is not
reached, the change cannot happen. The bill is enveloped in a cloud of
neutrality so you should not hear a lot of opposition.
Garrett Gordon (Sunny
Hills Ranchos):
Sunny Hills Ranchos, as owner of the piece of property
located in Storey County, is requesting the property be moved into Washoe County.
I have provided a map (Exhibit D) called the SB 272
color map. My client owns the property in the bottom left-hand corner of
approximately 1,100 acres that we would like to see move into Washoe County.
I have provided a second map (Exhibit E), an existing
services map, and you can see the proximity of water infrastructure and sewer
within a mile or 2 miles on the Washoe
County side of the property; thus it
would be more economically feasible to bring this property into Washoe County.
The intent of the bill is to give enabling authority to the
counties to make this decision. Currently, Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS)
Chapter 243 identifies all county boundaries. The Legislature only has a right
to amend those boundaries. The bill gives enabling authority to both pieces of
property. They do not come in together; it can be one or the other. If S.B. 272
passes and one of the properties goes before the Washoe County Board of
Commissioners and the other property goes before the Storey County Board of
Commissioners and this is approved, then the boundary line adjustments become
effective. The properties may come as a package or they may come separately,
but it was important to both the Washoe
County and Storey County
Board of Commissioners that it be an either-or approval and not both.
Referencing the proposed amendment, Exhibit
C, section 1 amends the legal description of the Washoe County
boundary to add the Sunny Hills property. Section 1.5 amends the legal
description of Storey County to include the property in the upper left-hand
corner of Exhibit D, which is currently owned by the Tahoe-Reno Industrial
Center, LLC. Section 2
confirms that the boundary change will not impact the outstanding obligations
of either county unless specifically discharged by that county. Section 3
states the bill is effective upon passage. It was important to both counties
that this issue did not continue for years, so a deadline date was set to get
this exchange accomplished.
The deadline is June 30, 2015. We have approximately 2 years
to obtain approvals from both Washoe and Storey Counties
to move the boundary line. Section 3 also includes language that says when
section 1 becomes effective, the Washoe
County piece would legally be moved
upon approval by Storey County and Washoe
County. It also says that
section 2 would be effective upon approval by Washoe
County and Storey County.
It was very important to both county boards that the properties be considered
separately, voted upon independently and not have to
do one without the other.
Chair Parks:
It probably seems strange to change county boundaries, but
it is has been done in the past when the Clark
County and Nye County
border was moved for the purposes of a development. The concept is not entirely
foreign. There was also a portion of Washoe
County moved into Lyon County
during a previous Legislative Session. This is a fairly common occurrence given
development. Does Washoe
County have a condition
that it will not provide municipal services beyond its county borders?
Mr. Gordon:
Since that arose as one of the many questions on land use
issues, such as water, transportation and access, we thought it was a good idea
to move the local government discussion from the Legislature to the county
level in order to negotiate those issues.
Vincent Griffith, P.E. (President, Reno Engineering
Corporation):
For the past 13 years, we have been the project engineers
and project managers for the Tahoe-Reno
Industrial Center.
I am also the president of the water and sewer company serving the industrial
park. The Tahoe-Reno
Industrial Center
is roughly a 167-square-mile project highlighted in the bottom left-hand corner
of Exhibit D. For reference, the City of Reno city limits are roughly 106 square miles and the City
of Las Vegas is
136 square miles.
The project has been underway for 13 years. Companies such
as Toys “R” Us, PetSmart,
Alcoa, James Hardie and others have located in the
Park. We have constructed numerous and expensive state-of-the-art utility
infrastructure to serve these Park customers that we have brought from outside
the State. Over $50 million has been invested in the project. The sewer plant
cleans 1.2 million gallons per day, and we have four water tanks with storage
for over 5 million gallons of water. A tremendous amount of work has been done
adjacent to and abutting the property in Washoe County.
We constructed a county complex for police and fire
personnel on a portion of the project, so we have police and fire personnel
on-site. We have been working with Washoe
County staff over the
last decade to anticipate the hurdles in bringing this parcel into the
development. We found that we are unable to share utilities over county lines,
so it makes more sense to adjust the county line.
We have a $4 million sewer plant that does not distribute
water or effluent back to the Truckee
River. If we were to stay
in Washoe County, we would not be allowed to use
the existing sewer plant and would be required to utilize a septic system and a
leach field. To put it into perspective, a standard warehouse with 300
employees would be almost 13,000 gallons a day of effluent leaching into the
groundwater. For expense and for efficiencies, the proposal of S.B. 272 just makes
sense. It is very difficult to provide police and fire services from Washoe County
at this location. From an efficiency standpoint, it makes sense to include this
property in the adjacent county in order to take advantage of the utilities and
infrastructure.
Greg Hess (Storey
County):
The Storey County Board of County Commissioners
had a meeting yesterday, and the vote was to remain neutral on this proposal.
The Commissioners like the idea of being able to transfer one or the other properties
in or out of Storey County and/or Washoe County.
As long as that language remains in the bill, we are looking forward to moving
along with this to allow the counties to make the decisions regarding these two
properties.
Bill Sjovangen (Chair, Board of
County Commissioners,
Storey County):
We did have a unanimous vote yesterday by the Board of
County Commissioners to be neutral on this bill, so we can continue the
dialogue with Washoe
County and the
developers. Mr. Griffith has indicated the difficulty of utilities crossing
county lines, and in the case of the property that would be given up by Storey County,
we could never provide utilities to that section. The only feasible way to
provide services would be to transfer the property to Washoe County.
On the Washoe County
side, Tahoe-Reno Industrial Park would like to develop
the property and, services are an issue.
John J. Slaughter (Washoe County Commission):
The Washoe County Commissioners reviewed this issue at their
meeting last week, and they took no position. There was a great deal of
discussion, and they are happy to see the local review and approval by both
Storey County and Washoe County Commissions; the amendment allowing one, both
or neither of the properties be transferred; and finally, a deadline for
action. A number of regulators related to sewers make it difficult to provide
services across county boundaries. Discussion of moving either or both
properties and bringing the decision to the local Commissions is something the Board
of Commissioners was happy to see in the bill.
Senator Goicoechea:
I commend the counties for working on this bill together
because it is clearly at the level of local government where it needs to be.
Juanita Cox (Citizens in Action):
My concerns have been somewhat appeased, but I was concerned
that the citizens of both Washoe County and Storey
County were unaware of
this issue and certain people were not represented. I saw proposed Amendment
7897, Exhibit C, to this bill, and my concerns have
not been discussed. The taxes in existence to that amendment are July 1 this
year, as well as all taxes pledged and revenue in existence prior to that date.
If this amendment is not passed or being considered, then I
have no comment.
Chair Parks:
Because both Washoe
County and Storey County
had the issue as an agenda item for discussion at their meetings would satisfy
the requirement of providing public notice. As long as the property is in private
hands, there are obviously property taxes and because of the possible property
exchange, they might cancel each other out. The issue on property taxes seems
to be fairly minimal. Was there any discussion at either board meeting
regarding property taxes?
Mr. Gordon:
During the Washoe County Commission hearing, there was a
discussion, and preliminary calculations showed the assessed value on the Sunny
Hills property is around $600,000; the property that could potentially be
included in Storey
County has an assessed
value of $2 million. There were concerns expressed that it may not be an even
swap; however, you would be giving enabling authority to the counties, and they
could work it out. Both properties are vacant now. With the development, there
is potential for it to be a wash. That conversation will continue at the local
level.
Senator Goicoechea:
Regarding this issue being on the agenda of the Boards of
Commissioners, there will need to be additional discussions and future meetings
where the issue will be posted on the agenda prior to any transfer.
Mr. Gordon:
Yes.
Chair Parks:
I will close the hearing on S.B. 272 and open the hearing on
S.B. 370.