The City of Reno requested an amendment to Senate Bill 48 that would, if approved, permit cities and counties more control over their planning commissioners.
This would take place through allowing cities and counties to pass independent ordinances surrounding commissioner appointments. Cities and counties would be able to add and remove commissioners at any time.
In Nevada, planning commissions are the last body of approval developers must pass through in many circumstances, such as when the development requires a conditional-use permit. Currently, commissioners are appointed during July in non-election years and serve four-year terms.
Currently, Clark County is the only body in the Silver State able to add or remove commissioners at will.
The amendment was added to SB48 after a series of disagreements between the Reno City Council and Planning Commission surrounding data centers. Much of the original SB48 has been removed in place of the amended version.
In 2025, City Council approved two data center appeals after the Planning Commission denied one. The Planning Commission proceeded to create a resolution that would implement a pause on data center approvals while further regulations were analyzed. Council then tied its vote on adding regulations, resulting in the resolution’s failure.
Tensions have arisen between the Planning Commission and City Council surrounding data centers. Mayor Hillary Schieve previously suggested changing Planning Commission terms once ward boundaries are changed. Her idea was to create Ward Six and to remove the at-large council position.
The Ward One Councilmember, Kathleen Taylor, also denounced the ward’s Planning Commissioner, Silvia Villanueva, at the meeting on the grounds of abstaining from a vote on a data center after City Attorney Karl Hall said she had to vote. Villanueva claims her abstention was both legal and necessary, as she had not attended the most recent meeting and did not have enough information on the proposal to vote.
Villanueva believes the amendment to SB48 is an effort from City Council to garner more power. Villanueva also claims she received a call from Taylor, who asked her to resign.
Taylor said her concerns surround Villanueva’s attendance and lack of preparation for meetings. Villanueva argued her attendance is fine as she has attended 80% of meetings since Taylor’s appointment in November.
Other commissioners, namely Manny Becerra and Kerry Rohrmeier, have publicly opposed the legislation. They claimed the removal of a planning commissioner due to a disagreement over a decision is “not democratic.”
Becerra called the proposal “chilling” and said it would eliminate transparency surrounding removing a commissioner. The remaining commissioners have not commented on the proposal. (Source)
