The Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency (TMRPA) is nearing the end of its 5-year Regional Plan and is seeking public feedback on what Reno-Sparks residents would like to see improved for the next one.
“The update happens every five years. This year is a particularly opportune time as our community has grown and changed drastically over the last few years and we expect will continue to (do so) into the future,” says TMRPA Policy Analyst Nate Kusha.
The TMRPA’s last plan created five years ago was a bit pared down due to the recession, therefore the TMRPA is encouraging public input in planning for the future on issues like how to accommodate population growth, conservation, and infrastructure. It launched a Plan Truckee Meadows Introductory Survey on August 24 that may be open indefinitely to capture as much data and insights as possible.
The survey aims to gather feedback that can provide a blueprint for growth and development in the region for the next two decades.
The City of Sparks’ Master Plan must be in conformance with the TMRPA Regional Plan, so now that the City has completed its Ignite Sparks project the TMRPA will take those findings into consideration as they update the Regional Plan. The TMRPA covers a wide range of topics, so its public outreach process is essential in finding out what is most important and they will release another survey specific to that number one concern.
The TMRPA is aiming to have a new plan ready for adoption in April 2018 but the timeline all depends on how much public input it receives.
“In June we started looking at Ignite Sparks and Reimagine Reno and the feedback they received, so we’re trying to piggyback off of what they have already done,” says Kusha. Over the last few months, TMRPA has also attended meetings with local community groups and planning commissions in an attempt to immerse itself with major entities to help establish the footprint for the future of Sparks and Northern Nevada. The TMRPA gave a presentation at the Sep. 13 Reno City Council meeting about the introduction of the survey and plans to introduce themselves and the Agency’s goals at the Sep. 25 Sparks City Council meeting as well.
Regarding Sparks specifically, Kusha says the top comments received from this sector of Northern Nevada is that residents are intent on wanting Sparks to maintain its small-town community feel while figuring ways to accommodate growth (which is one of TMRPA’s biggest challenges).
Although the TMRPA Regional Plan document is specifically in regards to land use, it is looking at ways on how to craft policies that can handle that kind of growth- a good problem to have since population growth and good job opportunities tend to lead to a better economy.
The TMRPA Plan Truckee Meadows Introductory Survey takes about five minutes to complete and is the best way to have your voice heard. To access it, visit https://plantm1.metroquest.com/.
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