Park Ranch unveils Buckeye Farms Agrihood

A proposed specific plan for 1,044 acres of Park Ranch Holdings land including 2,218 residential parcels and 48.3 acres of commercial zoning would more than double the size of the Town of Minden.

According to the town, there are roughly 1,700 housing units in the Douglas County seat with a population of 3,239 people.

The plan for Buckeye Farms Agrihood goes before the Minden and Gardnerville town boards this week.

Proposed to be built in five six-year phases over 30 years, each project would have its own planned development. David Park is the applicant.

Included in the proposal are 75 acres of land dedicated to Muller Lane Parkway’s right-of-way, 460 acres of preserved land, including 286 acres in the flood plain and native pasture and 575 acres in a conservation village.

The county is required to build two lanes of Muller Lane Parkway across the Park property prior to Dec. 5, 2025.

The plan includes 90 percent single-family units and 10 percent multi-family units.

In his analysis, Minden Manager JD Frisby said consideration should be given in the plan for a wider variety of housing types including multi-generational, senior and accessory dwellings.

Douglas County estimated 2,000 homes in the area for the traffic plan, but the specific plan doesn’t include an analysis to determine how it will affect traffic.

The Park property is affected by both the Pinenut and Buckeye creek watersheds, however construction of Muller Parkway should deal with several of the town’s flooding issues, according to the report.

All of the residential and commercial proposed in the project are located in Minden, with Gardnerville seeing a large area of native pasture north of Chichester. The extension of Marion Russell Drive to Heybourne Road would be the only maintenance obligation for the Town of Gardnerville, according to manager Erik Nilssen.

In his report, Nilssen said he didn’t agree with a proposal allowing the project phases to be developed out of sequence.

“The development of projects out of sequence has been an issue to the Town of Gardnerville previously …” Nilssen said. “On the private side for farms and trails, the phasing plan does not state when anything will be completed, only initiated. This leaves an open invitation to leave phases unconstructed or in a semi-completed state.”

Nilssen acknowledged that the project will have a significant impact on Carson Valley, but not that much on Gardnerville itself.

According to the proposal, 9,000 acres of development rights would be transferred out of south Douglas County.