Placing a harmony on progress in Churchill County
H. Pete Olsen
This impression column was submitted by Pete Olsen, chair of the Churchill County Fee.
Re: “Be concerned, Churchill County residents — be extremely concerned,” April 13:
As a commissioner for over 11 yrs, I am mindful of the progress that is headed to our neighborhood and how essential it is to carry on setting up for sustainable improvement which aids defend and preserve our purely natural means, whilst strengthening the price of our homes and top quality of everyday living. There is certainly been much talk of fears and worries bordering the topic of advancement, even though we have been strategically scheduling for it for well around 25 many years.
The housing assignments Churchill County has been pursuing are for the most modern-day housing readily available. Proposals presented to the Preparing Fee and/or to the Board of County Commissioners are for housing which is greater excellent than that of surrounding neighborhoods and would make improvements to over-all assets values. Our current housing stock is overwhelmingly solitary-spouse and children dwellings as opposed to multifamily. We visualize one-household houses to carry on increasing with our populace as pushed by positions in our location. In fact, there are developments on the textbooks that would include additional than 3,000 one-family members residences.
When taking into consideration conservation of resources, 400 one-relatives residences equivalent a footprint of 100 acres under county code, although 400 multifamily houses equate to only 35 acres of land. Our county has not had a modern day multifamily advanced manufactured in the past 40 several years and does not at present have a complex which attributes facilities these kinds of as a clubhouse, pool, bodyweight rooms, strolling paths, canine parks and other good quality offerings. We want to be equipped to provide high-quality multifamily housing equivalent to that of which our servicemen and servicewomen, contractors and veterans of NAS Fallon are accustomed to in other armed forces base communities. We feel our neighborhood justifies this variety of top quality housing solution with facilities that boost excellent of everyday living.
Who are “people persons” we are developing housing for in any case? These people today are our active-duty army and contractor households serving at NAS Fallon, veterans, partners, retirees seeking to downsize, families, and small children who have grown up in Fallon and want to continue on calling it their “home” — that’s who. They are the men and women getting new careers at Boot Barn, Tesla and Panasonic, as properly as our clinic Banner Churchill, CC Communications and our college district. They are also the folks who will consider the new work in Hazen as it proceeds to see new business growth and growth. Presently, 22 percent of enlisted NAS personnel and their family members are living exterior our neighborhood owing to a lack of housing, and in excess of the following couple of years we be expecting an extra 1,400 work to assist the new F-35 aircraft coming listed here. We believe the people today working and serving our local community have a affordable suitable and expectation to dwell in our local community.
Exactly where are these agricultural/rural lands that are staying gobbled up by growth? The only latest prepared unit development submitted this yr to the Preparing Commission is along Birch and Casey Roads and was an authorized progress that has been on the books for the earlier 15 years, prior to I took place of work. No agricultural production is in area on this assets. The proposed R3 zoning change would allow for 16 units for every acre, though prepared unit developments approved less than present-day county code previously allow for for up to 24 units for every acre.
Churchill County has labored tirelessly to conserve agricultural land and drinking water as a result of conservation easements. About 10,600 acres of ag land is under conservation easements, permanently shielding agricultural generating land and h2o legal rights. The conservation easement plan founded in partnership with the Board of County Commissioners and NAS Fallon practically 20 many years ago protects the base from encroachment although retaining land in agricultural creation and h2o rights in our valley. Our grasp prepare identifies the northwest quadrant of our county for enhancement the place it may be served by current h2o and wastewater infrastructure and found absent from NAS Fallon. The county has been steadfast in its values of managed, sustainable development, whilst shielding our means and rural way of lifetime.
My family members and I are very pleased to simply call Churchill County home. I have designed my residing in agriculture and go on to aid and shield agriculture and the rural lifestyle a lot of have arrive to take pleasure in right here in Churchill County. I have lived below for 50 yrs and like this neighborhood and the people today who decide on to make their houses here. Progress has appear slowly and gradually and sustainably with watchful thought. We are doing work diligently to handle the housing requires of our group when preserving our good quality of lifestyle.
Pete Olsen is chair of the Churchill County Commission, representing District 2.
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