Picketers gather at growth meeting

Picketers greeted Valley residents attending a hearing on future growth controls in Carson Valley.

Signs from both sides of the issue were carried in front of the CVIC Hall in Minden as Douglas County commissioners and planning commissioners held a joint meeting to discuss the growth element of the Douglas County Master Plan.

Revision of the ordinance will take time, but residents filled Minden to participate in a debate that could affect the county's future.

Officials took testimony from dozens of residents after an overview of the history of growth in the county. The meeting, which was supposed to go for two hours, extended well into the evening. The Good Government Group, Coalition for Smart Growth and the Sustainable Growth Initiative Committee all made 20-minute presentations.

At issue is the growth rate to be included in the Douglas County Master Plan and the means to ammend that growth rate.

The recent effort was sparked after the Sustainable Growth Initiative was upheld by the Nevada Supreme Court. The initiative calls for a growth rate of 280 building permits per year. That number jibed with a 2 percent growth rate when the petition drive began in 2002.

Growth rates in the master plan range from a low of 2 percent to a high of 3.5 percent.