Years in the making, and delayed due to the pandemic the Truckee Meadows Lands Bill is resurfacing as a potential solution to Northern Nevada’s housing affordability and buildable land scarcity crisis.
The intent of this potential bill was discussed at last week’s Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN)’s annual forecast and 40th year celebration. The call to action centers on the belief that our region is running out of land that can be developed and this scarcity is contributing to the affordability crisis within the Reno MSA. Statistics show that housing prices in the Truckee Meadows have ballooned past the national average soaring over 300% in the past ten years versus the national average increase of 36%. A lands bill allowing for federal land within expanded “disposal boundaries” (the boundary within which the Bureau of Land Management may sell off) could help change that.
Eighty-five (85%) percent of the state of Nevada is federally owned land, and specifically eighty-three percent (83%) of Washoe County is government held leaving increasingly limited land inventory to support our growing community’s housing needs. In fact it is forecasted that by the year 2027 our region will have exhausted all of the current desirable land for housing, including infill, and unless more land is made available our housing affordability crisis will continue and worsen.
This Public Lands Management Act gives the local governments a say in where land is sold and developed to ensure it is sustainable and supportable growth. This will allow for those federally owned lands to be sold and developed to support better infill and closer proximity to current infrastructure. The bill is seen as one viable solution that could potentially address this issue if the legitimate concerns surrounding this proposal are satisfactorily addressed. Those concerns are a lack of water to support development, the negative impressions of public land being “turned over” from the Federal Government to developers, and the environmental impacts on ranching, mining and wildlife. Proponents of this bill are diligently working to assure the public and the bill’s critics of resolution to these concerns.
Should this bill be passed it is proposed that revenue from the sale of these federal lands will be split between the State of Nevada General Education Fund (5%), local governments (10%), and a special account available to the Secretary of the Treasury (85%). Indicating that the proceeds from the sale of land in Washoe County will stay local and benefit residents rather than those funds going back to the Federal Government. The above mentioned special account could be used for things such as parks, trails, and natural areas and other conservation initiatives as well as wildfire prevention.
To learn more about this lands bill visit lands bill.org. Questions, comments or requests for information on conservation lands being considered for inclusion in the Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act may be submitted to TMPLMA_comments@rosen.senate.gov.
