The Sun Valley community is located in a geographically separated valley, between the City of Sparks on the east and the City of Reno on the West. Over time, the community has evolved
from a primarily affordable place to live to a diverse community with a growing sense of civic pride. Over the next 20 years, the community will provide additional employment opportunities,
connected with local serving office, commercial and tourist commercial businesses, and a mixed range of residential opportunities. Over this period, the distribution of land uses and the provision of public facilities and infrastructure will enhance and facilitate a community character that focuses on Sun Valley being a safe and healthy place to live, raise a family, work, run a business,
recreate and retire. The community expresses a strong desire to manage growth levels and traffic patterns so that traffic congestion and related air quality do not reach undesirable levels.
The community supports mixed-use development adjacent to Sun Valley Boulevard that will improve the appearance of existing and future commercial development and also provide for concentrating multi-family residential on this major arterial. The community would also like to achieve an upgrade of public infrastructure, such as curb and gutter, to existing Development Code standards. Sun Valley’s community identity is growing in strength and its residents are concerned that the future growth in Sun Valley be sustainable. Important factors of a sustainable Sun Valley include clean water to drink and clean air to breath, pedestrian safety, an adequate public transit system, manageable traffic, accessible public services, open space, trails, good elementary, middle and high schools and affordable housing.

The existing and desired land use pattern in the Sun Valley planning area is comprised of a suburban core that includes a mix of residential densities, the majority being at three dwelling
units per acre, with higher densities along Sun Valley Boulevard and north of El-Rancho Drive.
These suburban land uses are located throughout the central portion of the valley. The desired land use pattern includes a mixed-use district that will be concentrated along both sides of Sun Valley Boulevard from approximately Rampion Way in the south to 7th Avenue in the north. This area is referred to as the Downtown Character Management Area (DCMA) and will provide opportunities for property owners to develop utilizing a mixed use of office, commercial and multifamily residential land uses within the same structure. Future commercial developments will be aimed at providing services and employment opportunities to the local community and not the greater region. Single retailer establishments larger than 50,000 square feet are not seen as
being a part of the local community character. A small industrial area will continue to function north of 7th Avenue along Stella Drive, with no plans for expansion of the existing industrial land
use designation. Immediately adjacent to the suburban core, on the edges of the valley, are a few dispersed transition areas that are predominantly residential densities at one unit per acre
that are not connected to community sewer or water. The area outside the suburban core and transition areas is predominately of a rural character and comprised of some private property with
the General Rural land use designation, public lands with the Open Space land use designation and some Parks and Recreation land use.

The majority of Sun Valley will be known as the Suburban Character Management Area (SCMA).
This area will contain residential densities of one unit per acre or greater. Both sides of Sun Valley Boulevard from approximately Rampion Way in the south to 7th Avenue in the north will be
known as the Downtown Character Management Area (DCMA). This area will provide development and redevelopment opportunities for a mix of multi-family residential, office,
commercial and tourist commercial land uses. The SCMA and the DCMA will be the designated growth areas in Sun Valley. The area outside the SCMA will be known as the Rural Character
Management Area (RCMA). The land use designations for private property in this area will remain unchanged. The RCMA will be predominantly an area for the preservation of the community’s open space. Residential densities on private lands in the RCMA will remain at one dwelling unit per forty acres.

Open vistas of the surrounding ridges and the public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and Washoe County are an important identifying characteristic of the Sun Valley planning area. Retaining these lands as Open Space and continued access to these lands is paramount to the valley’s character. The existing open space contributes significantly to a
community desire to develop and maintain an integrated non-motorized trail system that provides access to regional trails and public lands. Community support exists for connecting existing trails, along with new ones; in-order to develop a Sun Valley Rim Trail.