NORTH HILLS TOWNHOMES
What You Need to Know
Estancia Community Association
Prepared by: Nick Davidson, HOA Board President — Mustengo Drive
June 2026 | Case No. LDC26-00072
First, I live at 7209 Mustengo Drive and serve as HOA Board President for Estancia Community Association. This is prepared as a homeowner, and I want to be straightforward with you from the start:
I support housing in Reno. I understand the cost-of-living crisis. I understand that people who work here deserve to be able to afford to live here. I am not opposed to development as a matter of principle.
What I oppose is approving this project now, before the infrastructure can support it.
The roads, fire coverage, drainage systems, and schools serving Lemmon Valley are already stretched. Adding 336 new homes to North Hills Boulevard before those problems are addressed does not serve our community - or the future residents of those homes.
This is the same argument that caused the City to deny a prior application for this exact site in 2022. The road is still two lanes. The fire station still has 12 volunteers. And the neighborhood has gotten busier, not quieter.
What Was Approved
On June 17, 2026, the Reno City Planning Commission approved a 336-unit townhome development called North Hills Townhomes on the undeveloped land on the west side of North Hills Boulevard. This is directly to the west of our community on North Hills – you can see the whole planning commission meeting and supporting docs here: https://reno.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=8852
The project would be three-story attached townhomes on 21.52 acres, built by Northern Nevada Homes, a company based in Bellevue, Washington.
This is the same property where the City denied a 408-unit apartment proposal in July 2022, primarily because the road could not handle the traffic.
The Four Things That Concern Us Most
1. The Drainage - and a $4.5 Million Warning from 2021
Lemmon Valley sits in a closed hydrological basin. Water that enters this valley stays in this valley — there is no natural outlet. All drainage flows toward Swan Lake.
The City’s own staff report acknowledges the applicant’s engineer found the site’s drainage fails the regional engineering standard (Truckee Meadows Regional Drainage Manual). The project was approved anyway, with conditions requiring the engineer to find a solution later.
In a closed basin with no outlet, there is no drainage solution equivalent to simply not adding more water to the system. Retention ponds and detention facilities delay water - they do not eliminate it. In a major storm, that water ends up at Swan Lake.
This is not hypothetical:
• In 2016–2017, Swan Lake flooded and damaged more than 56 homes in Lemmon Valley.
• Homeowners sued the City. A jury found the City liable.
• The City of Reno paid $4.5 million to settle those claims in May 2021.
Federal flood maps for the Swan Lake area were updated in December 2024 - the number of properties in the 100-year flood zone nearly doubled, from 97 to 192. That is before a single new home is built.
The question before the City Council: Can the Planning Commission honestly find that adding 336 homes of additional pavement and rooftops to a closed basin - where the applicant’s own engineer says the drainage fails - will not harm the public health and safety of existing residents? We do not think the evidence supports that finding.
2. The Traffic - The Same Problem That Caused the 2022 Denial
North Hills Boulevard is two lanes. The planned widening to four lanes is tentatively scheduled for 2026–2030 and has not been funded or committed. That is unchanged from 2022, when the City denied the prior application for this same site on traffic grounds.
What has changed since 2022 - and not for the better:
Lemmon Landing (~342 apartments, under construction): A large apartment complex is currently under construction immediately west of the project site on North Hills Boulevard. This project was not included in the traffic study for North Hills Townhomes - confirmed by the developer of Lemmon Landing, who submitted a written comment to the Planning Commission flagging the omission. That comment is in the official City record.
Mater Academy (1,500 students, approved August 2024): A charter school serving 1,500 students was approved on North Hills Boulevard, behind Raley’s at the corner of Beckwourth and North Hills. Approximately three-quarters of those students are bused in from across the region. The City required a traffic signal as a condition of approval. That school has not yet opened.
North Hills Townhomes would add 336 homes on top of all of that — before the road is widened.
3. Fire Protection — 12 Volunteers and a Closed Road
The primary fire response for our area is Lemmon Valley Volunteer Fire Department Station 23. According to the Washoe County Community Wildfire Protection Plan, Station 23 has approximately 12 volunteer members. The official hazard assessment identifies "limited fire suppression resources" as a primary factor in our hazard rating.
The water supply for fire hydrants in our area has no emergency backup generator for the well pumps. During a wildfire - when power outages are common - the hydrant system can lose pressure.
In August 2025 — just ten months ago — the Rancho Fire burned 1,483 acres in the North Valleys. Evacuation orders were issued. The fire required more than 10 engines, a bulldozer, and five aircraft to contain.
North Hills Boulevard - two lanes - is the primary evacuation route for our neighborhood and would be for 336 new homes on the other side of that road.
The project’s approval included a condition stating fire sprinklers “may be required” if response times can’t be demonstrated - but deferred the determination to a later stage, after the project is already approved and committed.
4. Schools That Are Already Full
Lemmon Valley Elementary School is currently operating at 97% capacity. North Valleys High School has operated with portable classrooms for years.
A 336-unit project is expected to generate approximately 180 additional school-age children. There is no school capacity analysis in the project’s approval and no requirement for the developer to contribute to new school capacity.
Mater Academy’s 1,500 students haven’t arrived yet. The school impact on this corridor will compound before a single North Hills Townhomes family moves in.
What Happened in Our Neighborhood
The Ward 4 Neighborhood Advisory Board - the formal community input body for land use decisions in our area - was scheduled to meet on this project but was cancelled for lack of quorum and never rescheduled. Our neighborhood had no formal opportunity to present questions or evidence during the planning process.
Written comments from residents on Mustengo Drive and Discovery Lane (thank you!) arrived at the City fewer than 48 hours before the June 17 hearing. Those comments raised exactly the issues above - and were acknowledged but not determinative.
What Is Happening Now
I have filed a formal appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval to the Reno City Council. The Council will schedule a public hearing - likely in late July or August - and then vote whether to uphold or overturn the decision.
The Council reviews this de novo — meaning it can look at the evidence fresh and substitute its own judgment. This is the best forum we have.
Our Ward 4 Councilmember is Meghan Ebert, who represents Wild Stallion Estates and all of Ward 4. She ran on a platform of infrastructure-before-density in 2022 and has been a consistent voice for ensuring development comes with the services to support it.
• Email: ebertm@reno.gov
What You Can Do
1. Submit a written comment to the City Clerk
When the hearing is scheduled, email cityclerk@reno.gov referencing Case No. LDC26-00072. Written comments become part of the official Council record. You do not need to be an expert. Effective comments are personal and specific:
• “I live at [address]. School pickup on Beckwourth already backs up to my street. I cannot imagine adding 336 homes and a 1,500-student charter school to this corridor without road improvements.”
Keep it factual and personal. Three to five sentences is enough.
2. Attend the hearing and speak
Three minutes of testimony per person. Your presence matters — elected officials notice when a room is full of residents. Watch for the hearing date notice (I will send it through the HOA as soon as it is scheduled).
3. Talk to your neighbors
Forward this document. Share it on NextDoor. Knock on a door. The more residents engaged, the more seriously the Council takes community concerns.
4. Contact Councilmember Ebert directly
A brief, polite constituent email to ebertm@reno.gov describing your personal experience with traffic, fire safety, or school congestion is appropriate and noticed. You do not need to mention the appeal — just tell her what you experience living here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Aren’t we just opposed to any development?
No. The 2022 denial was based on the same infrastructure concerns. The question is not whether housing should be built — it is whether this housing should be built here now, before the road is widened, before fire staffing is increased, and before the drainage in a closed basin is demonstrably solved.
Doesn’t Reno need more housing?
Yes, absolutely. Reno’s housing shortage is real. But there are hundreds of infill sites within the urban core — near existing roads, services, and fire coverage — where development could happen first. Lemmon Valley is not the right place for this scale of density right now.
Is this a done deal?
No. The appeal is a formal proceeding before seven elected officials who are accountable to residents of Reno. It is not a guarantee of a different outcome, but it gives our community an opportunity to put the evidence before people who answer to us.
What does this cost us?
The appeal fee is $250, which I have paid personally. Any additional costs - attorney fees, expert analysis - will be handled separately. No HOA funds are being committed without a board vote and proper authorization from our governing documents.
Contact
Nick Davidson
Mustengo Drive, Reno NV 89506
Email: nick@nickdavidson.io
HOA Board President, Estancia Community Association
This summary is prepared in my individual capacity as a homeowner and affected resident. It is intended to inform neighbors with factual information about this case. It is not legal advice. The HOA’s formal position will be determined by a board vote following member input. All facts referenced are sourced from publicly available documents: City of Reno staff reports, agency letters, Nevada court records, federal agency publications, and local news coverage. Sources are on file and available upon request.