A joint Town Council / Planning Commission workshop with a summary of all previous workshops and public, Planning Commission, and Town Council input with recommendations for appropriate changes to the Master Plan will be held at the Truckee Town Hall, May, 13, 2009.  Beginning at 6pm, members of the public will have the opportunity to provide comments on changes to the Master Plan.  The Commission and Council will have a focused discussion on recommendations for the final Master Plan version and may provide comments to staff for consideration in preparing the public hearing draft of the Master Plan.

A Community Workshop facilitated by the Planning Commission on the mass, scale, and traffic issues of the Railyard Master Plan will be held at the Truckee Town Hall, Thursday April 30, 2009.  The purpose of the workshop is to summarize previously raised comments on mass, scale, and traffic and to provide appropriate changes to the Master Plan based on these comments.  Members of the public will have the opportunity to provide comments on the design and circulation sections of the Master Plan, and the Commission may provide comments to staff for consideration in preparing the public hearing draft of the Master Plan.

The Truckee Economic Impact Analysis – Draft Report has been recently published and will be open for discussion at the January 20th workshop held at Truckee City Hall, 6-8pm.  This report examines three factors important to the future of the downtown:

1.The changing nature of retail in the Downtown, the current functional problems in the Downtown and the developments planned and proposed throughout Truckee that could compete with the Downtown.

2. The development program and phasing of the Railyard Master Plan are presented, and the potential impact of each potential land use are addressed.

3. The assessment focuses on the impact of the Railyard Master Plan as a whole on areas of concern identified by community members.  This section addresses the impacts of the projects on rents, competition and the mix of retail stores in the Downtown, as well ss the historic character of the Downtown and the smart growth goals of the Town.

The Executive Summary of the Impact Analysis says,

“The Railyard Master Plan has the potential to improve the cultural and retail experience in
downtown Truckee, provide an economic boost to existing businesses and draw more locals to
the historic core. New shops and restaurants in the Railyard development can bring critical mass
to the downtown and increase visibility, foot traffic and sales for existing businesses. The
introduction of continuous sidewalks, ample parking and a stronger community presence will
also benefit local merchants, particularly those that have already found success in the downtown.
Although the downtown may never return to its roots as a full-service retail center, it has the
potential to serve both residents and visitors alike as a destination for restaurants, shopping
entertainment and cultural opportunities. The shift to an entertainment-oriented downtown is in
line with national retail trends, as many traditional downtowns, like those in Bend and Telluride,
develop new economic identities in response to big box and formula retailers. The biggest threat
to the Railyard Master Plan and the existing Downtown is an oversupply of retail outside of the
downtown, and the Town must take a conservative approach when approving new retail outside
of the downtown to help deter this threat.”

In addition, the analysis found that the first phase of the Truckee Railyard development (hotel and residential) will generate over $1,000,000 of retail spending per year in Truckee.

Meeting Summary:

On Tuesday Jan 20th, Strategic Economics, the consulting firm hired by the Town, presented their draft Economic Impact Analysis to Town Council and the Planning Commission.  The findings of the draft report supported the idea that the Railyard would create a critical mass downtown, making the downtown more of a destination and strengthening the entire downtown core. Especially components such as the movie theatre serve as a prime opportunity to attract more locals and tourists downtown.  The Town is taking comments on the report until February 6th before working on the final analysis.  The firm received a great deal of input to consider from the public, council, and commissioners.  Refinements in the inventory of available retail space, a better understanding of the “leakage analysis”, a closer look at the case studies, and proposal of ideas for how to make Truckee more competitive in the region were all requested from the workshop.

Again, the draft report can be downloaded here:  http://www.truckee2025.org/devel/rymp/rymp04.htm

The next meeting of the planning commission will be an opportunity for the commission to comment on the recently published EIR.  The meeting will be held at Truckee Town Hall on December 10th at 6pm.

Meeting Summary:

The planning commission’s comments on the draft EIR will be forwarded to the Town Council and discussed at the 12/18 meeting for the council’s comments.

Join us Tuesday, Dec. 2nd from 6-8pm at Truckee Town Hall for a workshop on traffic and circulation related to the Truckee Railyard.  The Town will be hosting this workshop to provide an informational presentation on the traffic analysis completed as part of the Draft Environmental Impact Report, and there will also be a question and answer opportunity.  We look forward to seeing you Tuesday.

MEETING SUMMARY:

The powerpoint presentation from the traffic study portion of the EIR can be viewed by clicking here.

In review there were three main points presented:

1.  Development of the Railyard will increase traffic congestion but much of that traffic will be destination oriented.

2.  The major traffic impact will be at the weakest intersections in the downtown but this would be happening regardless of the Railyard development.

3.  The addition of the Glenshire/Donner Pass Road extention will help circulation particularly for traffic coming from Glenshire to downtown.

Nov. 12, 2008

Town Council Meeting November 20th at 6pm – Town staff will present a summary of the Draft EIR and the public review process and request that the Council approve a timeline for the review of the Draft EIR.

Nov. 6, 2008

Truckee Railyard Draft Environmental Impact Report Published. The Draft Environmental Impact Report has officially been published. Copies are available free of charge from the Town, can be found online, and people wishing to comment must do so in writing by January 5th, 2009.

Nov. 1, 2008

The town has been working internally and with its residents for over a decade on the vision for the Railyard.  For the past couple of years, Holliday Development has been continuing that effort with several workshops, meetings, and informal presentations.  The Truckee Downtown Merchants Associations, Noontime Rotary, Sunrise Rotary, and Sierra Nevada Conservancy are only a few of the groups that we’ve met with to discuss the Railyard. In addition, the following meetings have occurred at Town Hall in 2007 and 2008:
April, 2007 – Town Council update – Town endorsement of the Railyard’s participation in the US Green Building Council’s LEED for Neighborhood Development program
June, 2007 – Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board public meeting sharing findings of environmental investigations and remedial plans
December, 2007 – Master Plan roll-out at Town Council

January, 2008 –
Master Plan roll-out to the Planning Commission
Community Workshop on the Master Plan
Master Plan Dial Dais Study Session
Environmental Impact Report scooping with the Planning Commission

February, 2008 – Environmental Impact Report scoping with the Town Council
March, 2008 – Master Plan 2nd Community Workshop, focus on Mass and Scale
April, 2008 – Master Plan 3rd Community Workshop, focus on Economic Impacts