PROTECT OUR WASHOE -- Resolution of Support

Meadowridge Homeowners Association

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, Meadowridge Homeowners Association (the "Association") is an association of homeowners in the Meadowridge area of the City of Reno, specifically Ward 2 thereof; and

WHEREAS, the Association is comprised of citizens who are residents of the City of Reno and who care for the long-term preservation of the quality of life that exists in the Truckee Meadows; and

WHEREAS, the Association is aware that the property known as the Ballardini Ranch, consisting of approximately 1,016 acres along the foothills of the Sierras in the western portion of the Truckee Meadows, commencing from McCarran Boulevard in a southerly direction (the "Ballardini Ranch"), and certain related properties adjacent to the Ballardini Ranch (the "Ballardini Properties") have been among the most pristine and scenic areas in the Truckee Meadows and has greatly enhanced the quality of life for all citizens of the Truckee Meadows for years and, in addition, has been a home and place of refuge for important species of wildlife, including the deer herd, and plant life, for the area; and

WHEREAS, the Ballardini Ranch Properties have constituted valuable open space which has provided access to the Sierras for all residents of the Truckee Meadows, which access is rapidly diminishing and, in addition, has provided protection for the valuable deer habitat, protection of water quality, while providing unparalleled scenic views of the Truckee Meadows; and

WHEREAS, the County of Washoe is proposing the issuance of a bond, identified as Question No. 1 on the November, 2000 ballot ("Question No. 1"), for a total of $38,282,400, should Question No. 1 be approved, for the following purposes:

library purposes: $10,000,000;

open space acquisitions: $11,800,000;

trail acquisition and maintenance: $2,121,240;

park projects: $14,361,160; and

WHEREAS, if Question No. 1 is adopted, of the $38,282,400 in the entire proposed bond issue, $4,000,000 will be allocated for the acquisition by the County of Washoe of the Ballardini Ranch; and

WHEREAS, the Association believes that the recent fire along the foothills makes it clear that congestion and development of the Ballardini Ranch Properties would cause extremely high risk to residents living in the area and place excessive public service demands on the City as a result of any development of the Ballardini Ranch; and

WHEREAS, the property remains under the jurisdiction of Washoe County, the City of Reno has extended the sphere of its influence to approximately the northern one-half (1/2) of the Ballardini Ranch, thus giving the impression and causing the specter that high-density zoning may readily be available in the area presently under the sphere of influence and, in addition, that the sphere of influence of the City of Reno may be extended further in a southerly direction to encompass the entire Ballardini Ranch; and

WHEREAS, the loss of the Ballardini Ranch Properties to development would (a) devastate all remaining habitat for the survival of important wildlife species, as well as certain plant life, in the area; (b) place unacceptable clogging and congestion of traffic on McCarran Boulevard and other arterials and collectors surrounding the Ballardini Ranch; (c) result in a loss of the only remaining access to the foothills of the Sierras for all citizens of the Truckee Meadows; and (d) place extraordinary and unnecessary public expense on the citizenry of the entire Truckee Meadows for fire protection, water service, utility service, and education; and

WHEREAS, the development of the Ballardini Ranch would permanently cut off all access by the citizens of the Truckee Meadows to the foothills in the Truckee Meadows area, it is hereby

RESOLVED, the Association:

A. Declares its strong support for approval and adoption of Question No. 1 and urges the voters of Washoe County (including those residing in the cities of Reno and Sparks) to vote in favor of Question No. 1 for the long-term benefit of the community and for the acquisition of the Ballardini Ranch; and

B. Urges the City of Reno to immediately retract its "sphere of influence" in the Ballardini Ranch and modify the line of its sphere in a northerly direction to McCarran Boulevard, thus removing the specter and the impression that the City of Reno seeks to permit increased density on the Ballardini Ranch and permit its development, thus interfering with the goals envisioned by the County of Washoe for the issuance of its acquisition and interfering with the long-term land use and transportation plan in place for many years for the Ballardini Ranch Properties; and

C. Urges the City of Reno, City of Sparks, the County of Washoe, and its planning agencies, including the Regional Planning Governing Board, to (a) reaffirm the need for the preservation of the Ballardini Ranch as an open space area in any present or future planning that may be done in that area by all or any of those governmental entities and (b) take the steps necessary to support its acquisition by the County of Washoe and other public entities for its long-term preservation for all the citizens of the Truckee Meadows.

ADOPTED this _____ day of _________________, 2000.

Meadowridge Homeowners Association