Boys & Girls club awarded zone change despite neighborhood outcry

Carson City supervisors voted overwhelmingly Thursday in favor of granting the Boys & Girls Club of Western Nevada a zone change on a 3-acre parcel it owns in the Silver Oak neighborhood despite vocal neighborhood opposition.

The change allows the club to sell the land to a commercial developer to build neighborhood businesses at the site. The land originally only allowed for public use, such as a park or club facility.

With standing room only, supervisors said adequate notice had been given to Silver Oak residents and many public meetings were held where opposing views could be heard.

"From my perspective, this is not something that happened overnight," Supervisor Pete Livermore said. "There have been no back-door deals."

Supervisors also said they trusted the club to follow through with a commitment club representatives made Thursday to limit the types of businesses that could be built at the site through a deed restriction.

The club said the deed would bar many businesses neighbors were opposed to, including automotive services, convenience stores, dry cleaners, liquor and tobacco sales, gaming, gas, greenhouses, handyman services, hardware and laundorettes.

Special use permits would be required for auto parts sales, bars, 24-hour businesses, equipment rentals, personal storage, pet shops, and single or multi-family housing.

The club is expecting to break ground for a new clubhouse in spring 2004 at a 17-acre site at the corner of Northridge Drive and Lompa Lane. The project may take nine months to build. Silver Oak Development Co. donated the College Parkway parcel to the Boys & Girls Club so it could use the proceeds for construction of the new facility.

The club originally wanted to build a new clubhouse at the site beginning in 1997 but strong opposition from the neighborhood forced club officials to choose an alternate site.

Several residents of the neighborhood filled the room and made comments opposing the change of use. Some said they didn't trust the club to follow through with the deed restrictions.

A neighborhood petition that included 240 signatures was delivered opposing the change. Residents didn't believe proper noticing of the neighborhood took place.

Four supervisors voted in favor of granting the zone change, approved by the city planning commission a month earlier, including the neighborhood's elected representative Supervisor Robin Williamson. One-third of the audience left the room voicing disappointment with Williamson as she made comments in support of the change.

Mayor Ray Masayko voted against the change, saying he would have liked to see it go back to the planning commission for further discussion.

"I am concerned the rifts and the chasms will not be soon healed," Masayko said.