We can’t have a repeat of the Lakeridge Tennis Club debacle.
The last time development was promised to enhance the community and support the economic viability of the Lakeridge pool, clubhouse, and tennis facilities, Reno Land did a bait and switch. Could it be that Duncan Golf is following their approach?
In September 2019, Reno Land’s rezoning application included retaining many of the club amenities. However, months after the General Commercial zoning was approved, the Lakeridge Tennis Club was demolished and the property sold to Lyon Living who received approval to build eight four-story apartment buildings. The property is being sold again on the now approved plans to allow for four five-story apartment buildings adjacent to one and two story residential uses. Could something like this happen to the Lakeridge Golf Course?
The map denotes the the residential neighborhood that surrounds the proposed Lakeridge Resort site. Suburban Mixed-Use land designation is not suitable. The views, privacy and property value of residences at Hilltop, Rock Hill, Lakeridge Shores will all be directly compromised.
Save Lakeridge is a community-wide effort to protect Lakeridge for the present and future of Reno. Our goal is to stop Duncan Golf Management’s application to re-zone 12.5 acres of the Lakeridge Golf Course to Specific Planning District (SPD) from Parks Greenways Open Space (PGOS). Click here if you want to download the REVISED Zoning Map Amendment LDC25-00061 (59MB) for Lakeridge Resort SPD.
“The current neighborhoods within the Master Planned Community of Lakeridge that surround the golf course have grown and developed with the presumption that the golf course would remain an open space… Losing open space has impacts to elements such as public value, viewsheds, traffic and overall neighborhood character…”
- April 2022 staff report to the Planning Commission
Proposed site of Lakeridge Resort.
Important Historical Context
The Lakeridge golf course is 155 acres and was integral to the 900 acres Master Planned Community of Lakeridge built in 1969. The golf course was not zoned PGOS until January 2006. It was the Reno City Council that initiated the rezoning of the Lakeridge Golf Course to PGOS. The City Council made this decision because the Council “desired a more comprehensive approach to regulating golf courses that involves situating golf courses within a zoning district that corresponds in purpose and intent to golf course characteristics” (Staff Report- November 17 2005). Moreover, “rezoning Lakeridge golf course to PGOS limit(ed) the possibility of the golf course being converted to a more intensive use allowed in the SF15 district which infrastructure (was)not planned…..infrastructure in the immediate area such as storm water facilities and the traffic network were not planned for this intensity of development”. (Staff Report- November 17 2005). As the prior zoning of the golf course did not correspond to the master plan land use designation, it was for this reason that the City Council identified the golf course along with 1,169 other sites and over time rezoned the non conforming properties to confirming zoning districts.
The Duncan family bought the Lakeridge Golf Course, part of the Lakeridge Master Planned Community, in 2013.
In April 2021, Toll Brother’s submitted application LDC21-00032 to rezone the 6.61 acres former Lakeridge driving range from Open Space to SF6. For more info on why the driving range was closed, see the FAQs. Toll Brother sought to develop 46 townhouses on the 6.61 acre driving range to be adjacent to the 38 townhouses that they were planning to develop on the MF21 zoned property located at the eastern end of the driving range. Toll Brothers withdrew their application in June 2021 after facing strong resistance from the community of Lakeridge but also by the Planning Commission that did not support their application to rezone and was not recommending to the City Council to approve the application.
Fast forward four year and now it is Duncan Golf submitting to the City of Reno application LDC25-00061 to rezone 12.5 acres of the golf course to SPD so they can develop a “boutique hotel and spa”. The SPD Zoning Map Amendment Duncan Golf is requesting represents the current aspirations as the property owner though with SPD zoning it makes it nearly impossible for residents to keep up with constant changes to the handbook that may have dire consequences to surrounding properties.
Most concerning is that the SPD Handbook states that if the resort isn’t developed in 10 years, the 12.5 acres would not revert back to PGOS zoning. This means the property would revert back to an underlying zoning designation that is consistent with the Master Plan designation of Suburban Mixed Use. A review of Title 18 determined that the comparable zoning is Mixed Use Suburban (MU). Mixed Use Suburban technically has no maximum height. However, staff can require a site plan review for all buildings proposed over 55” in height.