Truckee Meadows RPGB Meeting: Data Centers, Budget, and Regional Plan - October 8, 2026

The Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Governing Board (RPGB) convened on October 8, 2026. The meeting featured a detailed presentation on data centers by Story County Commissioner Clay Mitchell, a public hearing on a tier amendment, a preview of the FY 2027-28 budget, and the annual evaluation of Executive Director Jeremy Smith. Commissioners also heard extensive public comment regarding data center development and regional planning.

Consent Calendar

• Agenda: The board voted 5-4 to approve the agenda as amended, which excluded the bundled item 7B (Regional Plan Annual Update) to allow for separate consideration of its components (schools policy, heat island, and mapping changes) at a later meeting.
• Minutes: The minutes of the previous meeting were approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Robin Palmer (Community Advocate): Cited a May Gallup poll finding 70% of Americans opposed to AI data centers. Expressed concern over the trade-off between water and energy consumption in cooling technologies.
• Elizabeth Bree Casper (No Desert No Data Nevada): Argued the region lacks power and water resources for proposed projects. Noted only ~10% of Story County's planned centers are operational. Requested a presentation from DRI on local environmental impacts before further steps are taken.
• Sean Sullivan: Raised fire and explosion hazards from on-site gas generation and LNG transport. Characterized the data center industry as a speculative bubble driven by AI hype, questioning long-term viability and noting risks from stable coins and mass surveillance.
• Alison Hartman: Presented public records documenting nitrogen exceedances in groundwater monitoring near the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (TRIC). Expressed concern over unlined effluent ponds and the quality of drinking water sources for workers in the park.
• Laura Fallon (Chemical Engineer, MBA): Stated the climate crisis tipping point has been passed based on accelerating risk factors. Urged the board to consider the ecological costs of rapid development.
• Christian Brown (Former Data Center Electrician): Shared firsthand experience building data center facilities, stating he stopped working on them due to long-term environmental concerns and resource impacts.
• Later General Comment: Casper reported an agency survey received over 9,000 responses, the majority expressing strict opposition to the data center boom. Sullivan elaborated on AI bubble risks. Hartman concluded with specific critiques of TRIC's regulatory oversight by NGID and TRIGID.

Discussion Items

• Presentation on Data Center Impacts (Clay Mitchell, Story County Commissioner): Commissioner Mitchell provided an overview of Story County's experience with data centers since 2017. He detailed the approval processes, cooling technologies (new centers use no fresh potable water, relying on dry cooling or recycled effluent), and power constraints (largest campuses planned at 200-250 MW, with 1 MW powering roughly 800 homes). He emphasized regulating impacts rather than project titles. Key Q&A topics included the 3rd place ranking of data center water use in the park, no formal heat studies conducted, and the lack of current decommissioning requirements. Mitchell noted Story County is pursuing a bill to halve data center abatement durations at the state legislature.
• Regional Plan Amendment (Item 7C - Ladira Properties): Staff recommended approval of a land designation amendment from Tier 2 to Tier 1 for a site in Reno to allow Suburban Mixed-Use development. The board voted unanimously to adopt the resolution.
• Budget Preview for FY 2027-28: Jeremy Smith presented the budget outlook, noting the FY 2025-26 budget outperformed expectations (deficit of ~$14k vs budgeted $70k). The initial plan for the next budget cycle factors in a ~3% cost-of-living adjustment (matching West Region CPI), continued use of interns, and increased legislative engagement costs. The board unanimously directed staff to proceed with developing the budget based on these assumptions.
• Executive Director Evaluation: Attorney Jessica Prenti reported Jeremy Smith's overall performance rating fell within the 'Exceeds Expectations' category. Board members provided strong commendations for his leadership on the regional housing strategy, data center research, GIS data, and regional collaboration. The evaluation report was accepted unanimously.

Additional Reports & Updates

• Washoe County School District (Naomi Dewar): Flagged upcoming board decisions on administrative facility relocation, the old STED elementary site RFP, and school consolidation.
• Legal Counsel (Jessica Prenti):
  1. Noted an Open Meeting Law complaint against the Regional Planning Commission (RPC) from a May meeting is under investigation by the Attorney General's office.
  2. Reported a petition for a writ of mandamus filed by the Pleasant Valley/Steamboat Valley Landowners Association challenging the board's September 11 decision on Sierra Reflections.
• Staff Announcements (Jeremy Smith):
  • The bundled 7B policy will be split into three items (Schools, Heat Island, Housekeeping) for the RPC and return to the RPGB in December.
  • A draft Data Center report will be published for public feedback in October, with final adoption expected in December.

Key Outcomes

• Votes:
  • Agenda (excluding 7B): Passed 5-4.
  • Ladira Properties Tier Change (7C): Unanimously approved.
  • Budget Direction (Item D): Unanimously approved.
  • Executive Director Evaluation (Item E): Unanimously accepted.
• Directives & Next Steps:
  • Staff to develop FY 2027-28 budget based on presented assumptions.
  • Draft Data Center report to be released for public comment in October; final report targeted for December vote.
  • Regional Plan update (7B) to be re-introduced as three distinct items in December.
  • Legal counsel to manage AG investigation and respond to Sierra Reflections writ of mandamus.
  • Future agendas to include a legislative update and an NDOT presentation as requested by Commissioner Rodriguez.