Reno Rock Transport seeks major grading and pipe work to make industrial parcel usable

Dave Snellabrove, a planning manager with Beaumont Consulting Group, told the Reno Neighborhood Advisory Board that Reno Rock Transport is seeking a major site plan review to rework roughly 9.6 acres of property and to perform large grading operations on the eastern parcels that total about 4.517 acres. "We're trying to get the usability of this whole property back to work the way it's been intended to work," Snellabrove said during his presentation.

The applicant is proposing to pipe and extend an existing drainage outlet by roughly 480 feet, fill a portion of an exposed drainage channel and move material from the higher eastern area to lower areas on the parcel. Presentation materials listed a maximum cut of about 25.97 feet and a maximum fill of about 22.15 feet. Snellabrove said the pipe work will be sized appropriately and that any blocked or silted sections will be cleaned before connection: "They will be required to do the maintenance and clean that out before connecting the pipes," he said.

The applicants also asked for relief from some landscaping standards. The proposal would rely on a line of evergreen trees for screening instead of a long continuous concrete block wall and requests a reduction in the number of required shrubs, arguing trees will provide better long‑term screening and reduce opportunities for graffiti.

Board members and residents pressed the applicant on several points. Ben Johnson asked how the pipe extension would clean the existing silted four‑foot pipe; Snellabrove replied that the city would not permit connection without cleaning and that the project team will include cleaning and maintenance in their work. Resident John White and others questioned whether the changes would increase truck traffic or lighting; the applicant said they do not foresee a significant traffic increase and said operations already occur on the property.

The presentation also addressed environmental questions raised by residents. Snellabrove said consultant work included a major drainage‑way study and a wetlands delineation; he reported a small wetland area in the lower site "a little over 0.64 acres" and stated the consultants believe it is below the Army Corps threshold for permitting but that mitigation or off‑site wetlands creation may be necessary and will be discussed with staff.

No final action by the board was taken at the meeting; this was a project presentation and Q&A. Staff said the item will proceed to a future planning commission hearing after the applicants complete city submittal materials and any required variance requests.

Ending: The applicant closed by thanking the board and saying they will return to future meetings when the item is scheduled for planning commission, and staff asked members to coordinate any written comments for the record with the council liaison.