Hassle brewing in old Nevada town over new development

An unidentified roofer works on a new home in the Genoa Lakes subdivision outside of Genoa, Nev. on Wednesday afternoon. A proposed time-share development nearby is causing a stir in the small, historic Nevada town, whose residents are no strangers to hassles over projects they see as a threat to their community. |Photo by Cathleen Allison/Nevada Appeal

GENOA -- A proposed time-share development is causing a stir in this historic Nevada town -- whose residents are no strangers to hassles over projects that threaten to alter the character of their community.

Mario Antoci, who owns the Genoa Lakes Golf Club, has submitted plans for 39 fourplexes, which would house 156 fractional-share units. Also in the plans is a nearly 19,000-square-foot fitness center on golf club property just north of Genoa.

A 50-room hotel had been in the plans, now up for review by the Douglas County Planning Commission. But Antoci said Wednesday he deleted that because of concerns that it would create too much traffic.

Antoci said he's hoping that what he sees as a "little village" proposal won't become controversial, but adds, "I know there will be some. We'll just have to deal with it."

Genoa's advisory board has scheduled a special meeting Tuesday to get comments on the plan, and town board member Ed Hoffman said he has "no idea" what to expect.

"My personal opinion is that this is moving pretty fast," said Hoffman, noting that details weren't shared with the town board until earlier this month.

"This thing had to have been in the planning stages for a long time without any knowledge by the town," Hoffman said. "It kind of hit us by surprise."

Antoci said the project began as "just a pipe dream" about nine months ago, but didn't come together in its current form until December -- and changes have been made since then.

"It would have been crazy to make people aware of it because up to a month ago we had lots of problems," he said, adding, "We didn't have anything to bring to the town before early January."

Antoci also said he has scheduled a Feb. 3 meeting to discuss the plan with residents of Genoa Lakes -- a high-end development that caused a lot of controversy when it was approved about 13 years ago.

Scores of homes, the golf course, a restaurant and other improvements in Genoa Lakes now cover more than 400 acres of what had been an historic Carson Valley ranch owned by the Hollister family.

More recently, Genoa residents clashed over a commercial development in their tiny downtown, and that dispute evolved into an effort to do more community planning.

Hoffman said the latest Genoa Lakes proposal "tells me that more than ever we need to move forward with Genoa's community plan."