Virginia Street Bus RAPID Transitubmitted Extension by: Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County Supplemental Land Use and Economic Development Information and Supporting Documentation Templates for Small Starts Projects September 2017 Submitted by: Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County With support from: VIRGINIA STREET BUS RAPID TRANSIT EXTENSION PROJECT Page intentionally left blank Page | i VIRGINIA STREET BUS RAPID TRANSIT EXTENSION PROJECT Table of Contents Overview __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1 Existing Land Use ________________________________________________________________________________________ 2 Existing Corridor and Station Area Development _________________________________________________________________ 2 The Districts _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3 UNR DISTRICT ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4 DOWNTOWN DISTRICT __________________________________________________________________________________________ 7 MIDTOWN DISTRICT ____________________________________________________________________________________________ 12 Existing Corridor and Station Area Development Character ____________________________________________________ 15 UNR DISTRICT ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 15 DOWNTOWN DISTRICT _________________________________________________________________________________________ 17 MIDTOWN DISTRICT ____________________________________________________________________________________________ 18 Existing Station Area Pedestrian Facilities, including access for persons with disabilities ___________________ 19 UNR DISTRICT ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 19 DOWNTOWN DISTRICT _________________________________________________________________________________________ 20 MIDTOWN DISTRICT ____________________________________________________________________________________________ 21 Existing Corridor And Station Area Parking Supply ______________________________________________________________ 22 Supplemental Parking Information_____________________________________________________________________________ 23 Economic Development _________________________________________________________________________________ 24 Transit Supportive Plans and Policies: Transit supportive corridor policies ___________________________________ 24 Plans and Policies to Increase Corridor and Station Area Development _____________________________________ 24 Plans and Policies to Enhance Transit-Friendly Character of Corridor and Station Area Development ___ 25 Plans to Improve Pedestrian Facilities, Including Facilities For Persons With Disabilities _________________ 26 Parking Policies __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 26 Transit Supportive Plans and Policies: Supportive Zoning Regulations Near Transit Stations _______________ 27 Zoning Ordinances That Support Increased Development Density in Transit Station Areas ______________ 27 Zoning Ordinances That Enhance Transit-Oriented Character of Station Area Development and Pedestrian Access _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 27 Zoning Allowances for Reduced Parking and Traffic Mitigation _____________________________________________ 28 Transit Supportive Plans and Policies: Tools to Implement Land Use Policies _________________________________ 29 Outreach to Government Agencies and the Community in Support of Transit Supportive Planning ______ 29 Regulatory and Financial Incentives to Promote Transit-Supportive Development ________________________ 30 Page | ii VIRGINIA STREET BUS RAPID TRANSIT EXTENSION PROJECT Efforts to Engage the Development Community in Station Area Planning and Transit-Supportive Development _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 30 Performance and Impacts of Land Use Policies: Performance of Land Use Policies ___________________________ 32 Demonstrated Cases of Developments Affected by Transit-Supportive Policies ____________________________ 32 Station Area Development Proposals and Status ______________________________________________________________ 38 Performance and Impacts of Land Use Policy: Potential Impact of Transit Project on Regional Land Use __ 39 Adaptability of Station Area Land for Development __________________________________________________________ 39 Corridor Economic Environment _______________________________________________________________________________ 39 Tools to Maintain or Increase the Share of Affordable Housing _________________________________________________ 45 Evaluation of Corridor Specific Affordable Housing Needs and Supply _____________________________________ 45 Plans and Policies to Preserve and Increase Affordable Housing in the Region and/or Corridor _________ 47 Adopted Financing Tools and Strategies Targeted to Preserving and Increasing Affordable Housing in the Region and/or Corridor _________________________________________________________________________________________ 47 Evidence of Developer and Public Sector Activity to Preserve and Increase Affordable Housing in the Corridor __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 48 Extent to Which Plans and Policies Account for Long-Term Affordability and Needs of the Very- and Extremely-Low Income Households in the Corridor __________________________________________________________ 49 Local Financial Commitment Checklist ________________________________________________________________ 50 Table of Figures Figure 1. Districts in the Virginia Street Corridor ............................................................................................................................. 2 Figure 2. Connecting UNR & Downtown Has Long Been a Goal of the City of Reno .......................................................... 3 Figure 3. UNR Points of Interest & Station Locations ...................................................................................................................... 4 Figure 4. University of Nevada, Reno Student Center and Library. Parking Lot on Lower Right was converted to the E.L. Wiegand Fitness Center. ............................................................................................................................................................... 5 Figure 5. The Standard at Reno (Student Housing) ......................................................................................................................... 6 Figure 6. RTC 4TH STREET STATION ...................................................................................................................................................... 7 Figure 7. Downtown District Points of Interest Map ....................................................................................................................... 8 Figure 8. Reno Arch and Whitney Peak Hotel (with exterior climbing wall) ........................................................................ 9 Figure 9. Non-Gaming Hotel Recently Opened near RTC 4TH STREET STATION (right) .............................................. 10 Figure 10. Recently Opened Innevation Center on the Virginia Street RAPID Route ...................................................... 10 Figure 11. Juniper Village Affordable Housing Development that Opened in 2015 in the RTC 4TH STREET STATION AREA................................................................................................................................................................................................ 10 Figure 12. Reno Bike Project (Left) and Martin Iron Works (Right)....................................................................................... 11 Figure 13. The Depot restaurant, which opened near RTC 4TH STREET STATION in 2015 ........................................ 11 Figure 14. Midtown District Points of Interest Map ....................................................................................................................... 12 Page | iii VIRGINIA STREET BUS RAPID TRANSIT EXTENSION PROJECT Figure 15. Reno's Riverwalk District..................................................................................................................................................... 13 Figure 16. Rendering of Park Lane Redevelopment Project (Currently Under Construction).................................... 14 Figure 17. Construction of the Student Achievement Center, Peavine Residence Hall, and Housing near the University (Image Credit: RTC) ............................................................................................................................................................... 15 Figure 18. UNR USDA Food Desert ........................................................................................................................................................ 16 Figure 19. Industry Type Breakdown of Downtown Reno (Data Credit: Infogroup, 2015) ......................................... 17 Figure 20. Whitney Peak Hotel; Downtown Reno Skyline; Staging for the Mayoral Bike Ride During Bike Week 2015; and