The Story County Planning Commission on Nov. 6 recommended a zoning code amendment allowing billboards as a permitted land use in the I‑2 heavy industrial zone via special‑use permit and approved a separate special‑use permit to construct an approximately 60‑foot tall, two‑sided billboard on a parcel adjacent to Interstate 80 at assessor’s parcel number APN 004‑101‑02 in McCarran.

County staff said the proposed code changes would add the land use in the I‑2 zone but only allow billboards following a special‑use permit review to ensure compatibility with surrounding uses. Kathy Campbell, Story County planning staff, told the commission that some existing code language needed correction and clarification, including a misinterpretation of state statute distance language: the county’s sign chapter should require billboard locations to be within 660 feet of the I‑80 or USA Parkway corridor in non‑urban areas, not beyond that distance.

The special‑use permit application (file 2025‑058) was presented by Jessica Prager, Story County staff, who described the proposed sign: a roughly 60‑foot high structure with two faces of approximately 1,200 square feet each, visible from I‑80 and USA Parkway. The applicant, George Pomeroy of GP Global Outdoor Advertising, told the commission he holds a right‑of‑entry agreement with the Union Pacific Railroad to access the parcel for construction and said the sign would use vinyl faces with solar‑powered lighting; the applicant said no digital display was proposed.

Staff said some I‑2 parcels are excluded by other regulations (for example, areas inside the Tahoe‑Reno Industrial Center and the Comstock Historic District), and that the proposed code clarifications would not apply to those protected areas. The county’s draft language also preserves a 2,000‑foot buffer from residential zoning districts (including mobile‑home parks), while allowing planned unit developments or public zones to be considered under a special‑use permit so the commission can evaluate impacts case‑by‑case.

Commissioners adopted staff’s findings of fact and recommended approval of the zoning text amendment (file 2025‑057; bill 145; board number 25‑333). The commission then approved Special Use Permit 2025‑058 for the proposed billboard with the recommended findings and conditions of approval read into the record. The applicant must comply with county code, the special‑use permit conditions and any applicable state regulations.

The commission’s motions were made on the record and approved by voice vote. Staff emphasized that the code amendments are intended as cleanup and clarification to better align local ordinances with state statute language and to establish a special‑use review so individual billboard proposals can be evaluated for site suitability and impacts.

Clarifying details recorded at the hearing include: the sign height (~60 feet); each face area (~1,200 sq ft); parcel APN 004‑101‑02 as the proposed location; staff’s interpretation that NRS requires locations to be within 660 feet of the I‑80 or USA Parkway corridor for non‑urban areas; and the county’s existing 2,000‑foot proximity standard to residential zoning (now clarified to explicitly include mobile‑home parks). The applicant confirmed solar lighting and that digital/electronic displays were not proposed.