Menu
Check Out Our Latest Concept On Residential Density Shown Below
For this edition of TMRPA’s Periodical we wanted to highlight our recent work to visualize residential density. We developed this graphic to illustrate how much land is utilized to support different types and densities of housing in our region. This helps give us an idea of how best to utilize land within the Truckee Meadows Service Area (TMSA). The evaluation and implementation of appropriate residential densities supports the efficient delivery of facilities and services as well as the optimization and use of existing infrastructure we’ve already invested in. Read on to learn more and stay-tuned for more on this concept!
With the need for affordable housing growing in the Truckee Meadows region, three agencies teamed up to develop a regional comprehensive housing strategy. Truckee Meadows Healthy Communities (TMHC) and the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency (TMRPA) collaborated with Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. (Enterprise) to create the Comprehensive Regional Housing Strategy.
Housing our Future is the Truckee Meadows’ Regional Strategy for Housing Affordability over the next ten years. This strategy contains two components: a Community Profile and a Strategy Roadmap. The Housing our Future Community Profile introduces and defines the use, need, and impact that affordable housing has and can have on the region. It is supported by robust analysis and evaluation of the current housing stock, market conditions, regional housing tools, and national best practice. The Housing our Future Strategy Roadmap provides the concrete steps the region can take over the next ten years to capitalize on the opportunities and address the needs that were identified in the Community Profile.
Check Out the Strategy!
Thank you to our partners on this effort!
The 2019 Regional Strategy for Housing Affordability outlines 35 actions designed to address key regional housing issues identified in order to adapt the way the region works on housing to better keep pace with changing needs and demands in the future. To achieve the vision that, “all residents of the Truckee Meadows have access to a continuum of safe, accessible, and affordable housing options in neighborhoods that offer access to opportunity and a high quality of life,” the region will need to operate and collaborate. TMRPA was tasked with various actions and has created the Affordable Housing Tracker in order to complete the following initiatives:
Action Item 0.3 – Maintain a Centralized Regional Inventory of Residential Land and Assets
Action Item 4.2 – Establish a Regional Preservation Early Warning System
Reliable and readily available information about residential land and other housing assets in the region will support more efficient and impactful use of resources. To implement this, TMRPA has created an inventory of affordable housing, specifically subsidized housing projects and contract details. To do this, TMRPA compiled this information by using local and state resources. Staff has created an interactive map which will updated on an annual basis, in which affordable housing can be spatially analyzed and assessed.
The 2019 Regional Strategy for Housing Affordability outlines 35 actions designed to address key regional housing issues identified in order to adapt the way the region works on housing to better keep pace with changing needs and demands in the future. To achieve the vision that, “all residents of the Truckee Meadows have access to a continuum of safe, accessible, and affordable housing options in neighborhoods that offer access to opportunity and a high quality of life,” the region will need to collaborate. TMRPA was tasked with various actions and has created the Affordable Housing Tracker in order to complete the following initiatives:
Action Item 0.3 – Maintain a Centralized Regional Inventory of Residential Land and Assets
Action Item 4.2 – Establish a Regional Preservation Early Warning System
Reliable and readily available information about residential land and other housing assets in the region will support more efficient and impactful use of resources. To implement this, TMRPA has created an inventory of affordable housing, specifically subsidized housing projects and contract details. To do this, TMRPA compiled this information by using local and state resources. Staff has created an interactive map which will be updated on an annual basis, in which affordable housing can be spatially analyzed and assessed.
The Truckee Meadows Housing Study represents the collaborative effort of many partners in understanding current housing conditions and future housing needs in our community. This study provides a clear picture of the current housing stock, and where housing is planned for the future. The data also shows that where development is located can greatly impact the cost to provide regional services and infrastructure.
This study presents information about the Truckee Meadows Services Area, shown below. We refer to this area as either the region or the Truckee Meadows.
Scenarios of Future Development
TMRPA looked at two ways that housing might develop in the region, referred to as “scenarios of future development.” The scenarios are: (1) Classic Scenario, where growth patterns are similar to historical growth, and (2) McCarran Scenario, where growth patterns assume more compact growth.
The two scenarios of future development begin with the forecast for growth in Washoe County of about 128,000 new people in the region by 2035, resulting in demand for about 50,600 new housing units.
The Classic Scenario, shown in the map below on the left, assumes that the Truckee Meadow’s development pattern over the 2015 to 2035 period is similar to development in the region over the last 15 years
The McCarran Scenario, shown in the map below to the right, assumes a more compact development pattern when compared to the Classic Scenario. It also shows that the McCarran Scenario places more development within the McCarran ring road (25% of forecasted units).
Cost of Providing Key Services For Different Patterns of Growth
Capital costs for infrastructure in the McCarran Scenario, the more compact development pattern, are expected to be about $780 million less than in the Classic Scenario. A more detailed analysis of additional infrastructure and services, as well as operations and maintenance costs, will likely show a larger savings in the price of serving our region under a compact growth scenario.
Public Policy Opportunities
The Truckee Meadows region needs a wider variety of housing types to meet anticipated demographic shifts and affordable housing needs. The cost of ownership of single-family detached housing in the Truckee Meadows has increased by more than 60% over the last two decades, while household incomes have only increased by about 17%. Local governments and service providers all face pressing fiscal challenges to provide services and infrastructure.
Thank you to our partners!
