Johnson Lane residents explore forming general improvement district

Gardnerville, Nev. — The proposal by a county road task force to establish a district to raise money for feeder streets has prompted Johnson Lane residents to organize their own effort.

A meeting is 11 a.m. Saturday at the Johnson Lane Volunteer Fire Department to discuss the possibility of establishing a general improvement district to keep property taxes closer to home.

Formation Exploration Committee Chairman Mike Dang said the community’s feeder roads would be the first priority.

“We would list more than just roads,” he said. “But we would focus on the roads. We want to make sure they are being taken care of first.”

He said that his information is that other powers would have to be activated separately before they could be implemented.

A recommendation developed by the county road task force and reiterated in the connectivity plan presented to commissioners calls for a road district for those parts of the county where feeder streets don’t have a district or town to work on them.

Minden, Gardnerville, Genoa, the Gardnerville Ranchos, Indian Hills, Topaz Ranch Estates are all examples of towns or districts that maintain their own roads.

Wild Horse Home Owners Association President Bob McPherson said that the last thing he wanted to do was come up with a new tax.

“But if they’re going to create a GID in spite of us, which is their right, it is to our advantage to do it locally,” he said. “If we’re forced with a GID regardless, it’s better to make it the one we want.”

Dang said he wanted to make sure residents were aware this is a different effort than the one proposed last spring.

McPherson said the proposed district would cover 1,200 homes in the area. According to the U.S. Census, Johnson Lane was home to 6,490 residents in 21.87 square miles in 2010.

According to the Johnson Lane GID website at http://johnsonlanegid.blogspot.com the proposed district would be north of Johnson Lane, east of Highway 395, extending north of Stephanie Way and Santa Barbara Drive and west to Skyline Ranch and Romero Drive. The gated community at North Fork Trails would be excluded.

Douglas County’s general improvement districts were formed under Nevada Revised Statutes chapter 318.

The districts provide a variety of services and are independent governments with their own taxing rates and elected boards.

According to the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, Douglas County is home to 21 different general improvement districts, more than twice the next highest number in a county and a quarter of the total number in the state.