‘Biggest Little City’ Makes Room for Growth

Reno, Nevada Mayor Hillary Schieve is urging her city to loosen regulations that the mayor — and many housing advocates — argues are stifling housing construction and driving up costs.

In an article for Business Insider, Eliza Relman explains, “Since January 2017, home prices have risen 90% and rents are up 53% in Nevada, far outstripping national growth rates, Alex Horowitz, the director of Pew's housing-policy project, told Business Insider.” An influx of new residents after the pandemic drove up demand for housing, putting much of it out of reach for the average household.

According to Relman, “Under Schieve, Reno has loosened some of its regulations by allowing for more density, reducing parking requirements, and cutting fees. Since 2019, the city says it has waived $11 million in sewer hookup fees and $700,00 in building permit fees to help bring more than 2,000 units of affordable housing to the market.”

When asked about the proposal from both presidential candidates to open up public lands for new housing, Schieve says the issue is complex and must include considerations about infrastructure, services, and conservation. For Schieve, the focus should be on existing urban centers, which offer plenty of opportunity for infill development. “There's still a lot of work for cities to build up and not out,” Schieve said.