Tribune/Nathan Orme - Don Jeppson, director of the Washoe County Department of Building and Safety, spoke to the Spanish Springs Citizen Advisory Board on Wednesday about the Got Permits? program.
The intersection has been at the center of controversy for the Spanish Springs CAB as of late. In November 2009, board members approved a new development called Village at the Peak while a gas station was being built at the same time and in the same area. A primary concern of speed and safety, according to residents, has spurred the desire to install a traffic signal at Calle de la Plata, which the Nevada Department of Transportation has been unwilling to do because officials said it would create more traffic instead of alleviating it.
On Wednesday, Larkin said sending a representative or two to speak at today’s Regional Transportation Commission meeting during public comment, when NDOT director Susan Martinovich could listen, would help get the ball rolling on some smaller projects that could ease the traffic flow for the intersection just north of Eagle Canyon Drive.
“She would be pivotal,” Larkin said of Martinovich, “and while you may not get the intersection itself improved, lots of things can be done. We can have restriping so we’d have acceleration and deceleration lanes. We can do some widening on Pyramid.”
Funding for such projects could come from the voter-approved RTC-5 gas tax measure, Larkin said.
“There are some things that can be done if you guys and gals can come to a common agreement about what can be done now and get behind it,” Larkin said.
Board member Kevin Roukey said the CAB can only make recommendations and members would have to rally the support of residents to have their voices heard. He suggested that the CAB devise three plans. These would range from what the CAB would like to have to what it would be willing to settle for if it can’t get everything it wants done.
“This is not going to be an instant fix by any means,” Roukey said.
Larkin responded by saying the project is “not off my radar.”
“That doesn’t mean we can’t improve the intersection,” he added.
Also at the meeting, the board heard a presentation from Don Jeppson, Washoe County director of building and safety. He said the Building and Safety Department, or, as he called it, the “clearinghouse for permits,” has implemented a plan to educate homeowners on those additions or fixtures for which they would need to obtain a permit.
For the Got Permits? program, Jeppson said, the department has made available a placard that lists typical home projects that homeowners need to get a permit for, including window improvements, high fencing, heavy concrete floor work and other things.
“We’re educating the public on how to do it the right way,” Jeppson told the board.
The other program he introduced is the residential amnesty program, which began on May 1 and runs through Oct. 31 this year and gives homeowners a chance to get permits for those projects that were completed without one and avoid possible penalties.
Jeppson said suspicions among banks and lenders have led to an increase in calls to his office about whether certain residents had permits or not.
“If I was being pessimistic, I would say they don’t want to lend as much money as they used to so they’re trying to find excuses or ways to lower the price (of homes),” he said. “There are homeowners trying to refinance and banks won’t because they have an illegal patio home addition and yet (the homeowners) were afraid to come to us. Generally, if they came to us, we would waive the fees.”
Jeppson said the public is welcome to e-mail or fax their applications to the building department, but his information technology staff has not yet been able to get the application available to fill out online because they’re backed up in about two year’s worth of work, he said.
CAB members also heard from Grant Nedjedlo of the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension on a series of wildfire preparedness presentations that start next week. The goal is to teach residents how to make their community fire safe as the local fire departments become increasingly understaffed. The first presentation takes place from 6 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Sparks Fire Station 5, located at 6490 Vista Blvd.
Also, new CAB board members took their place for the first time, including Chris Mirando, Carol Schaye and Alfonzo Zamora. The board also held its annual elections. Greg Prough was elected the new chair, Steve Grosz as vice chair and John Bilka as secretary.
The next Spanish Springs CAB meeting will be held Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. at Lazy 5 Regional Park, 7100A Pyramid Way.
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