Council approves zoning map amendment to allow for expansion of senior living facility 

Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter

The Fernley City Council on Dec. 18 approved a zoning map amendment which will allow a senior living community in Fernley to expand its services. 

The council voted to change the zoning from single family, 20,000 square foot minimum, to public facility, on two parcels totaling approximately 1.741 acres and occupied by the Golden Years Castle Home of Fernley. 

The facility is located at 575 Farm District Rd, at the southwest corner of Farm District Rd, and Westerlund Ln. The company has been operating since 2003 and the Fernley location opened in 2019. 

Because Golden Years Castle Home is the only business offering services to Medicaid recipients, it has a shortage of room availability. The company is proposing to expand the facility by adding 10 beds, and Nevada Aging and Disability Services Division has provided them with a grant for the expansion. 

Susanna Gutierrez, a contract associate planner for the city, said the current single-family zoning limits the density to 2.2 units per acre, so an alternate zoning is required to accommodate any expansions. The existing land use designated as “life care or continuing services” is an allowable use in the public facility zoning. 

The council had previously changed the zoning designation in the city’s master plan from single family to public facility, so the zoning map amendment makes the zoning consistent with the master plan.