Council to consider annexation of county parcel adjacent to Victory Logistics District

By Kerry Lyman

A public hearing on the proposed annexation of almost 108 acres of county land to accommodate a large gas-fired power plant proposed by Mark IV Capital will be conducted at the December 17 city council meeting.

During a presentation last month before the Lyon County Commission, Scott Barnes, Mark IV Capital’s vice president of entitlement, told the commission the modular power plant will begin by generating 250 megawatts of power and will scale up to 1.8 gigawatts of power as demand grows, eventually rivaling the 2 gigawatt power output for Reno-Sparks and Washoe County.

Barnes told the commission the surge in demand for data centers is driving the demand for more power because data centers consume vast amounts of electricity to power servers and cooling systems.

The city staff report on the annexation indicates service to the property by Lyon County public services and facilities could not be done efficiently because no county infrastructure is currently nearby. However, through annexation, the area can be served by infrastructure and service networks “already in development to the immediate south.”

The proposed 107.87 acre annexation is undeveloped at this time and has no current vehicular access. The triangular-shaped parcel is bounded by Interstate 80 directly to the west, Bureau of Reclamation land to the east and city of Fernley parcels to the south, according to a staff report.

The parcel is one of 107 parcels within city limits that is considered a county island because it is within the city limits. The property directly abuts properties that are part of the Victory Logistics planned development along the south property line, providing the property with nearby access to water and sewer infrastructure, according to a staff report.

The developer will be responsible for extending infrastructure to the annexed site in a manner that is cost-effective to the city and will help meet the needs of the Victory Logistics District without overburdening the city’s infrastructure capacities, the staff report indicated.

There was no discussion of the proposed annexation during the first reading of the ordinance at last week’s council meeting. However, the Fernley Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the annexation at its November 12 meeting.