Three Fernley planning commissioners resigned Oct. 14 following a dispute over the City Council’s handling of a proposed power plant, leaving vacancies on the seven-member commission and exposing a breakdown between the two governing bodies.
Commissioner Cody Wagner, Vice Chair Jennie McCullar and Commissioner Angela Lewis announced their departures near the end of the meeting. They objected to the treatment of Wagner and the council’s decision to hear and approve a power-plant permit that the commission had postponed.
Earlier in the meeting, that disagreement contributed to a delay for an unrelated project: Vaquero Outpost, a proposed 51-acre commercial and residential development across Highway 95A from Fernley High School.
Wagner said uncertainty about the commission’s authority made him reluctant to proceed with that application.
By the end of the evening, he said he was no longer willing to serve.
“I think we’re supposed to have a process where we can have different thoughts,” Wagner said.
The dispute centers on CUP26005, a conditional use permit for a proposed 324-megawatt natural-gas-fired power plant at Victory Logistics District.
The applicant, M4 Victory Power QOZB LLC, proposes the facility on approximately 109 acres of industrial property. Developer representatives have described additional power as necessary to attract businesses and support development within the district.
The Planning Commission considered the application Sept. 9. Minutes included in the October agenda packet record presentations by city staff and the applicant covering the facility, noise controls, environmental studies, emergency planning and the need for power.
The commission voted 5–2 to table the item until its next meeting. It did not approve or deny the permit.
The City Council subsequently took up the application and approved it Oct. 7.
Before that council meeting, Wagner submitted a written objection arguing that the commission’s postponement was not a final decision that could be appealed to council. He requested that council return the application to the commission or identify the legal authority allowing it to proceed.
The developer’s position has been that the application required a fair hearing and that Wagner’s public statements over the past year, raised concerns about his impartiality.
The disagreement therefore involves two distinct questions: whether Wagner was required to step aside, and whether council could take up the permit before the commission completed its consideration.
n Oct. 13, the Nevada Commission on Ethics issued an advisory opinion addressing Wagner’s disclosure and abstention obligations under state ethics law.
Wagner sought the opinion after Douglas Thornley, an attorney representing Mark IV Capital, sent a July 27 letter demanding that Wagner recuse himself from proceedings involving the proposed power-generation facility, related permits and other project-specific applications within Victory Logistics District.
The letter cited Wagner’s social-media posts and public comments as grounds for the demand.
The Ethics Commission concluded that previously expressing an opinion or position does not, by itself, prevent a public officer from participating or voting under Nevada’s ethics law.
It found that Thornley’s letter identified no applicable financial interest or private commitment requiring Wagner to disclose an interest or abstain.
Wagner read portions of the opinion into the record Oct. 14.
The opinion did not decide the separate question of council’s authority to hear the postponed application. Nor did it resolve the developer’s constitutional due-process argument about an impartial hearing. Its conclusions concerned Nevada’s Ethics in Government Law and the facts considered by the commission.
The conflict affected consideration of Vaquero Outpost, a separate planned development proposed by Northern Nevada Development LLC at 1605 Highway 95A.
The proposal would establish development standards for approximately 51.1 acres on the west side of the highway, directly across from Fernley High School.
According to the staff report, the land-use plan includes 13.6 acres of mixed use, nine acres of general commercial, 6.3 acres of medium-density residential, 13.8 acres of high-density residential and approximately 8.4 acres of public right-of-way.
Wagner requested postponement, citing concerns about the commission’s role following the council’s handling of the Victory application.
He told the applicant’s representative, John Krmpotic, that his objection was procedural rather than directed at the applicant.
Krmpotic questioned why the proposal was being delayed and whether concerns about a different development agreement were being applied to his application.
“I’ve done hundreds of these over my career. I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said, adding that he would respect the decision.
Chief Development Officer Michele Rambo clarified that Vaquero Outpost was not a development agreement. It was a planned development, essentially a rezoning accompanied by a handbook establishing development standards.
Lewis apologized to the representative for the project being caught in the dispute and delayed.
The commission accepted public comments, including concerns about traffic near the high school, water service and the scale of future development. Substantive consideration was postponed to Nov. 10.
The commission did proceed with other business, unanimously recommending council approval of an extension through Dec. 31, 2028, for recording the final subdivision map for the 37-lot Wilson Landing project.
During commission comments, Wagner disputed portions of a written account of his public statements and interactions with city officials. He also objected to comments made during the council’s consideration of the plant, which he interpreted as directed at him.
He characterized his treatment as bullying and said disagreement over whether the power plant would benefit Fernley was not his reason for leaving.
“If people think the power plant is going to be the greatest thing in the world for Fernley, that’s fine,” he said. “We can have logical discussions.”
Wagner said his resignation would take effect at the end of the meeting.
McCullar followed, saying she objected to Wagner’s treatment and believed the council’s action created a precedent allowing developers to bypass the commission.
Lewis then announced her resignation.
“Our power has just been completely taken away from us,” she said.
Mayor Neal McIntyre thanked all three for their service and said he was sorry to lose their experience. He also said he did not have authority to remove an item placed on the council’s agenda by the council.
The Oct. 14 meeting included no new vote on the power-plant permit. City Attorney Aaron Mouritsen explained that the item remained on the agenda for public-hearing purposes because of notice requirements and the timing of council’s earlier action.
Planning staff said work was continuing on proposed data-center development regulations, with a workshop or open house anticipated.
The next commission meeting was announced for Tuesday, Nov. 10, because the usual Wednesday meeting date falls on Veterans Day.
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