City of Reno Zoning Code Clean-Up

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Downtown Reno Riverwalk

The City is undergoing amendments to the Development Code. See each subsection below for more information.

Most Recent Updates

Code Clean-up: City Planning staff will be bringing the most recent version of the proposed amendments to the Zoning Code to the Planning Commission on November 21st, 2024, followed by the City Council in the December/January timeframe. Please submit any feedback on the draft proposed changes to the Development Code. See the "Zoning Code Clean-up Items" section below for more information.

Sign Code: City Planning Staff is continuing to seek community feedback on changes to the Sign Code. Staff recently hosted three virtual Downtown Business Stakeholder meetings on the topic, on November 18th, 19th, and 20th. A recording of those meetings is available for review. See the "Signs Ordinance" section below for more information.

Options for Submitting Feedback

City Council Public Feedback Form
Planning Commission Public Comment Form
Contact staff directly: email Lauren Knox

Zoning Code Clean-Up Items

Planning staff has been actively engaging with the community and stakeholders in an update to the Title 18 Zoning Code since the summer of 2023. The Zoning Code Clean-Up includes grammatical errors, inconsistencies with regulations, and unintended deletions or insertions and changes from the 2023 legislative session. Key to the code clean-up is to create a document that removes the conflicting regulations and is easier for staff to administer in a consistent manner.

A full list of meetings and input sessions that have taken place include the following:

June 8, 2022 – Council initiated a text amendment to address outstanding zoning code clean-up items

June 2023 – NAB meetings
June-July 2023 – Historic Resource Commission (HRC) (2 meetings)
August-October 2023 – Technical Advisory Committee (7 meetings)
October-December 2023 – Stakeholders (9 meetings)
Various timeframes – Smaller interest group meetings (NAIOP, landscape architects, Washoe County School District (WCSD), etc.)
March-April 2024 Planning Commission – 3 meetings
August 28, 2024 - City Council
October 2024 – NAB meetings
November 21, 2024 – Planning Commission hearing at 6 p.m.
December 2024/January 2025 – City Council hearings

We are now entering the final stages of the review and approval process and will be presenting the proposed ordinance changes to the Planning Commission and City Council. The redline changes can be viewed here: Title 18 Proposed Redlines Nov 12 2024.

Please see the "Related Documents" section of this page for a link to the previous proposed redline changes to the Zoning Code, dated March, 2024.

Affordable Housing

In November of 2023, Council directed staff to separate the more general Development Code Clean-up items from the affordable housing initiatives related items that were included and to bring the item back as a separate amendment, as the housing initiatives related items warranted more targeted discussion and public feedback. This was also separated to better address a change to State law (AB213) which required the City to adopt an ordinance that would prioritize and better incentivize affordable housing development.

In July of 2024, Council adopted the new ordinance. Generally, the ordinance addresses the following:

Providing density bonus incentives for affordable housing developments serving 0-60% area median income (AMI);
Process improvements to expedite building permit review for affordable housing developments; and
Increasing density bonus incentives targeted towards market rate infill developments.

Signs Ordinance

The current Title 18 Sign Ordinance has conflicting regulations and needs to be reviewed for compliance with federal regulations. This review will ensure consistency with federal and state regulations, as well as provide better guidance for anyone wishing to install a sign.

Updates to the Sign Code

Stakeholder outreach began in the Fall 2023. Staff and a consultant took the feedback received and drafted proposed changed to the sign code. City Planning Staff is seeking community feedback on changes to the Sign Code.

View a copy of the redline edits.
View an easier to read version that has annotations.

Public stakeholder meetings were held on the last week of September. A recording of each meeting, which includes the presentation provided by staff, can be found below.

The Planning Commission reviewed the item at the October 16th, 2024, meeting. See the Planning Commission staff report and the video of the Planning Commission meeting for more information.

Downtown Business Stakeholder Meetings

While the Sign Ordinance update is a broader review of sign regulations throughout the entire City, we wanted to specifically get feedback from the Downtown Reno businesses. This is everything related to allowances for square footage of signs, height of signs, digital signs and other sign related regulations.

Three separate virtual meetings were held in November to share information regarding what the sign code allows today, what the proposed changes are, and open up the conversation for stakeholders to provide comment, discussion, and feedback. The recordings of each meetings are accessible using the following links:

November 18, 2024 Downtown Business Stakeholder Meeting

November 19, 2024 Downtown Business Stakeholder Meeting

November 20, 2024 Downtown Business Stakeholder Meeting

Please e-mail Lauren Knox with any additional comments or feedback relating to this.

Summary of the Changes

Updated triggers for entitlement review related to signs to be consistent across the code. If an entitlement is triggered, the process is for a Major Site Plan Review, which requires Planning Commission approval is required.
Add a statement on "content neutrality" to address federal laws relating to freedom of speech.
Modified/added sign definitions for monument sign, pole sign and freestanding sign.
Moved references to signs with the Gaming Overlay to the Sign section of code.
Clarified what size and type of signs are allowed within the Downtown Entertainment District.
Added sign requirements for several zoning districts that had been inadvertently left out of the code.
Cleaned up the Table on Sign Regulations by Zoning District to provide consistency across zoning districts.
No changes have been made to code related to billboards (off-premise signs), nits on animated signs, or gas station sign regulations.

General Questions and Answers

Why is the Sign Code Being Updated?

Council adopted a new Title 18 Annexation and Land Development Code (i.e. Zoning Code RENOvation) on January 13, 2021. Following adoption of this code, staff has been undertaking a larger Code Clean-up, as well as several subject specific text amendments, at the direction of City Council.

Staff assumed a full rewrite of the sign code would be necessary, due to the complexity of regulating signage, and has been working with a consultant to help guide the development of new regulations. It was determined in this process that a full rewrite was unnecessary, however, there are specific amendments and insertions needed, particularly to Table 5-1 Sign Regulations by Zoning District.

Where are we at in the Review Process for the Sign Ordinance?

A series of sign stakeholder meetings were held in 2023, to determine what areas needed to be updated. Staff worked with the sign consultant and prepared a redline version of those changes. Additional stakeholder meetings were held in September 2024 to go over the proposed changes and seek feedback from the community. Staff presented the draft redline changes to the Reno Planning Commission in October, held additional stakeholder meetings specific to Downtown Businesses, and will present the draft to the City Council in December. These meetings are intended to gain feedback, and no formal recommendations will be made during this stage in the review process. A final draft ordinance will be written and presented to stakeholders, Planning Commission and City Council in early 2025 for a formal recommendation and ordinance adoption.

What Changes are Proposed to the Sign Regulations Impacting Downtown Businesses?

For the last 20 years, ALL businesses within the Downtown Entertainment Zoning District boundary have had unlimited signage. Similarly, all casinos and any businesses zoned Hotel Casino (HC) have also shared in having unlimited signage. This has been allowed in the Zoning Code since 2005. The Zoning Code changed in 2021, and that boundary was expanded to include additional businesses anywhere within the Gaming Overlay boundary. The Gaming Overlay boundary includes all areas within the City of Reno that allow for casino’s, consisting of approximately 2,000 acres of property that stretches from Verdi to Downtown to the Airport to the Summit Sierra/Shayden Summit Mall area.

Staff is proposing to scale that back and reduce the unlimited signage to only businesses located within the Mixed-Use Downtown Entertainment Zoning District AND all legally established non-restricted gaming (i.e. Casinos).

Staff’s recommendation REDUCES where the unlimited signage is allowed and reverts to the same general areas that have had unlimited signage for the past 20 years. This includes all businesses in the core Downtown Entertainment area and all casinos.

What Changes are Proposed to the Sign Regulations Impacting Casinos?

No changes are proposed to sign regulations impacting casinos. Casinos will maintain the same regulations they have had for the past 20 years.

What Areas of the Sign Code are not Changing?

The majority of the Sign Code is being left it its current state. Areas that are NOT changing include:

Billboards (off-premise) sign regulations
Regulations of digital/animated signs
Regulations on digital sign brightness levels (i.e. nits)

Related Resources

Signs Assessment

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)

A survey was held from January 1st through February 29th, 2024, to garner public feedback on ADUs.
The results of the survey were presented to the City Council on March 27th, 2024. Council directed staff to come back to discuss specific standards and restrictions that will be in the zoning code regarding ADUs.
Staff brought back specific standards for discussion with City Council at the July 31, 2024, meeting. These proposals can be viewed in the table below.

Next Steps: Staff will take the recommendations provided by Council to the public and hold multiple community meetings to get feedback, anticipated to occur in the Winter of 2025.

The survey results can also be viewed online.

Development Standard	Staff Recommendation	Justification for Recommendation
Minimum Lot Size	N/A	Staff recommends no minimum lot size specific to ADUs. The minimum lot size for each zoning district and lot coverage would regulate whether or not an ADU could be on a lot.
Maximum ADU Size	Same as accessory structures	It is clear that there should be a max size of ADUs, but staff recommends keeping this consistent with other accessory structures. This will allow people to convert existing structures to ADUs
Setbacks	Same as accessory structures	Staff recommends keeping this consistent with other accessory structures. This will allow people to convert existing structures to ADUs
Parking	1 off-street parking space per ADU	Parking was one of the number one concerns with the survey. 1 per unit is consistent with our general parking standards.
Design of ADUs	Same as guest house standards	Compatibility is important to be able to preserve neighborhood character. The Title 18 guesthouse standards are fairly robust , and they allow for some consistency in the code.
Discretionary Review	No	Some are in favor of requiring discretionary review, but some are not. Many other jurisdictions do not require discretionary review for ADUs since they are very similar to other accessory structures.
Neighborhood Restrictions	No	Based on mapped results of the survey there were more favorable responses in each neighborhood than negative. If the regulations are appropriate, these should fit in each neighborhood.
Height	29 feet or no taller than the primary structure. Whichever is less.	This is more restrictive than general accessory structure standards and it ensures that the ADU will be compatible and not tower over the home.
Number of ADUs per Lot	1 per lot	This is consistent with other jurisdictions, previous text amendment, and feedback from the survey
Allowed Zoning Districts	All zoning districts where detached single-family are allowed	Since ADUs are intended to be accessory to single-family homes, staff thought it was appropriate to allow ADUs in all districts where single-family homes are allowed. This includes: LLR-2.5, LLR-1, LLR-.5, SF-3, SF-5, SF-8, SF-11, MF-14, MF-21, MF-30, MD-ED, MD-UD, MD-ID, MD-NW, MD-PD, MU, MS, MU-MC, MU-RES, PGOS, PF, UT-5, UT-10, and UT-40

Telecommunications Ordinance

The existing telecommunications/cell tower ordinance is outdated and conflicts with other federal regulations. A new ordinance is needed, ensuring that the zoning code is in conformance with federal regulations and accounts for evolving technologies.

A consultant has been hired to assist with this update and stakeholder outreach began in the Fall 2023. Staff is currently developing proposed amendments to the existing regulations. Further stakeholder meetings are anticipated to occur in 2025.

Telecommunications Assessment

Stakeholder List Sign-Up

Public Meeting Opportunities

Meeting Dates and Times

Previously Held Stakeholder/Public Engagement Meetings

Code Clean-up

Stakeholder Meeting #1: October 23rd, 2023 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. at City Hall 1 E 1st St Reno, NV 89501
Stakeholder Meeting #2: October 30th, 2023 8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. at McKinley Arts and Culture Conference Room 925 Riverside Dr. Reno, NV 89503
Stakeholder Meeting #3: October 30th, 2023 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at O’Brien Middle School 5000 Silver Lake Blvd Reno, NV 89506
Stakeholder Meeting #4: November 2nd, 2023 11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. Virtual
- Video - https://youtu.be/fpXAKP54_m0
Stakeholder Meeting #5: November 6th, 2023 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Virtual
- Video - https://youtu.be/krrM53G0nV0
Stakeholder Meeting #6: November 8th, 2023 5:30 p.m. – 7: 00 p.m. at JWood Raw Elementary School 10600 Green Pasture Dr. Reno, NV 89521
Stakeholder Meeting #7: December 4th, 2023 at 12:00 p.m.
Stakeholder Meeting #8: December 4th, 2023 at 5:30 p.m.
Stakeholder Meeting #9: December 11th, 2023 at 12:00 p.m.

Affordable Housing Initiatives

January 10, 2024 - https://youtu.be/EWmIfCT38z0
January 11, 2024 - https://youtu.be/ZWMsfcOm3p0
January 16, 2024 - https://youtu.be/d6cwbYycJH0

Council directed staff to do more public outreach to inform the public about the changes that Planning Commission is recommending to City Council. Staff held 4 virtual public meetings regarding these changes. The slideshow which was reviewed during the meetings is available. A recording of each meeting can be found below.

Signs

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