The Joerger Ranch Specific Plan was again up for discussion by the Truckee Planning Commission, which heard a presentation on the matter during a roughly four-hour meeting on Monday.

The Joerger Ranch Specific Plan was adopted by Town Council in 2015, and had its first projects approved in 2018. Phase 1 of the project included the construction of a Raley’s grocery store and Mountain Hardware’s new building. Phase 2 of the project was approved by the Planning Commission in February, and includes four buildings with a total of 31,523 square feet of commercial floor area and 69 rental multifamily residential units. Completed projects thus far, according to the Planning Commission, have raised questions about where the specific plan’s vision is still relevant today along with more of a demand for workforce housing.

At its Feb. 9 meeting, Town Council directed staff to work with the Planning Commission on potential amendments to the plan. The first phase of amendments is set to address housing policies and regulations. A broader amendment process that will look at other topics like zoning and land uses, is slated for later and likely, according to the planning commission, will be included along in the 2040 General Plan.

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Workforce requirements

Rather than requiring workforce housing to be addressed on a project-by-project basis, the specific plan took all of the assumptions about workforce housing demand and put them on a single workforce housing parcel.

Under Phase 1 amendments, topics that were discussed by the Planning Commission included an approval of housing as a targeted, conditionally allowed, or permitted use; types of housing and where they can be constructed; inclusionary housing; workforce housing construction; the percentage of residential units for a mixed-use project that is either commercial or manufacturing, which the Planning Commission set a standard of a maximum of two-thirds housing; workforce housing in-lieu fees; and multifamily housing development standards.

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Following several hours of discussion on the topic, the Planning Commission ultimately approved of amendments to the Joerger Ranch Specific Plan, forwarding its recommendation of approval to the Town Council, which will take up the project at a later date.

Justin Scacco is a reporter for the Sierra Sun. Contact him at jscacco@sierrasun.com or 530-550-2643.