Lompa Ranch seen as a doggone good deal by Carson City Parks and Recreation Commission

The Carson City Parks and Recreation Commission approved recommending the parks and trails plan for the proposed Lompa Ranch development project to the Planning Commission with one addition — a dog park.

More specifics on the proposed development of 251 acres of the northern portion of Lompa Park were provided at the commission’s meeting Tuesday — including plans for the development to include a new elementary school and a new fire station. Those elements didn’t fall under the commission’s responsibility as it dealt with the parks, recreation and trails portion of the project.

Commission member Donna Curtis, who proclaims herself as the “dog park lady,” said she wanted a dog park to be included in the development. Supervisor Lori Bagwell, also a member of the commission, stated it would make it easier on the developer if the commission included a specific request for a dog park in its recommendation to the Planning Commission.

In approving its recommendation to the Planning Commission, the Parks and Recreation Commission included a specific request for a dog park in the recommendation.

Mike Railey of Rubicon Design Group, the developer of the proposed project, said he was open to the idea of including a dog park. The project calls for a number of stormwater detention facilities and Railey said one idea is to develop a dog park around one of those facilities.

In addition to a dog park, the development would have two other parks — a 10-acre community park and a 3-acre neighborhood park.

Railey said his company has accounted for concerns over traffic with a new elementary school placed close to Carson High School. Measures to be taken include improvements to Saliman Road, Fifth and Airport streets, with bike lanes added to all three.

Railey said the plan calls for a new elementary school and a new fire station to be built in proximity to each other. As part of the city’s master plan, the development must also include plenty of room for trails, bike paths and open space.

The proposed development also calls for a landscape maintenance district which would be funded by developer fees on homes in the development. The district would be in charge of maintaining all of the parks, recreation, trails and open space components in the development.

Railey said the planned development would include 1,500 to 2,500 housing units, which would include various kinds of housing from apartments to homes to create a diverse community.

Another unique part of the development is the creation of alley ways to create a more neighborhood feel to the community.

In other business, the commission voted to promote Lee-Ann Keever from vice-chair to chairperson of the commission for 2016. The commission voted to select Robert Glenn as vice-chair.

The commission also heard from Eagle Scout Thomas Reed on his Eagle Scout project in which improvements were made to the Lone Mountain Park Trail.

In addition, the commission approved a request to the Board of Supervisors to fund several Capital Improvement projects, including expanding Lone Mountain Cemetery at a cost of about $45,000 and improvements to the Carson Aquatic Facility pool.

An update was also presented on the Multi-Purpose Athletic Center — the MAC — in which the upstairs track is expected to be put in place in the next two to three weeks.