Wood Rodgers Tees Up at the 19th Hole Today …

Thought we’d highlight some of Wood Rodgers campaign contributions to the folks on the Reno City Council.

Tonight's developer-sponsored meeting promises all the transparency political contributions can ensure.

Ladies and gentlemen, step right up to tonight's 5:30 PM spectacle at Lakeridge Golf Course, where the fine art of "developer-sponsored community engagement" takes center stage. Yes, it's another one of those mandatory dog-and-pony shows where deep-pocketed developers get to explain why their latest vision for your neighborhood is actually a gift to humanity.

Tonight's headliner? None other than the consulting maestros at Wood Rodgers, who we're pretty sure will be pitching the merits of allowing yet another Master Plan amendment. Because if there's one thing Reno needs more of, it's surely more amendments to plans that were supposedly well-thought-out the first time around.

Now, we're not saying there's anything untoward about Wood Rodgers being the ones making this pitch. We're just saying that when Councilmember Naomi Duerr helpfully reminded us that this is a "developer sponsored" meeting—as required by Nevada Revised Statutes—it got us thinking about sponsorship in general.

Facebook comment from Councilmember Naomi Duerr.

You know, like the kind of sponsorship that shows up in campaign finance reports. The kind that makes us wonder if we'll ever see a developer-sponsored meeting where we can't trace a single dime in contributions to sitting city council members. Call us old-fashioned, but we'd love to experience that unicorn of municipal governance just once.

Give credit where it's due: Nevada law requires developers to hold these community meetings before major projects move forward. It's a beautiful idea in theory—get the community involved, hear their concerns, build consensus. In practice? Well, it often feels more like watching a scripted performance where the ending was decided before the curtain went up.

The law says developers must sponsor these meetings. It doesn't say they have to sponsor council campaigns too, but hey, why not multitask? After all, efficiency is the hallmark of good business.

Councilmember Duerr was kind enough to point out that this project will be heard at the Ward 2 Neighborhood Advisory Board meeting on August 19, 2025. That's the real show, folks—tonight is just the dress rehearsal where residents get to voice their concerns to consultants who will nod politely and take notes they may or may not share with anyone who actually makes decisions.

The history of development around Lakeridge is a masterclass in "community engagement" that somehow always ends up with the same result: developers replacing recreational facilities with housing. Whether it's Toll Brothers posting signs for luxury townhomes starting at $600,000 or applications for boutique hotels and spas, the pattern is clear.

Remember when Reno Land's purchase seemed like a saving grace for those wanting to save the club? How's that working out for the community that thought they were getting recreational revitalization instead of residential development?

Wood Rodgers represents the cream of the consultant crop—the professionals who can make any development sound like a community benefit. They speak fluent "stakeholder engagement" and are masters of the "win-win scenario" presentation. You could be shown traffic studies that prove more density means less congestion, economic impact reports that demonstrate how luxury housing helps affordable housing, and architectural renderings that make everything look like it was designed by angels.

Their job is to sell projects, not to protect communities. There's a difference, even if it gets blurry sometimes.

Here's our challenge to the development community: just once, could we get a major project presentation from a firm that hasn't contributed to local campaigns? We're not asking for much—just one meeting where we can't play six degrees of separation between the presenter and the people who'll be voting on the project.

It's not that campaign contributions are inherently corrupt. It's that they create the appearance of conflicts of interest that make every community meeting feel like theater. When residents raise concerns and councilmembers dismiss them, it's natural to wonder whether those dismissals are based on policy merit or contribution gratitude.

For tonight's entertainment, we've prepared a developer meeting bingo card. See how many you can check off:

• "Community input is vital to this process"

• "This project will create an economic opportunity"

• "We've designed this to be compatible with neighborhood character"

• "Traffic studies show minimal impact"

• "We're committed to working with the community"

• "This is a win-win for everyone"

Bonus points if someone uses the phrase "thoughtful development" with a straight face.

The frustrating part for residents isn't that these meetings happen—it's that they often feel meaningless. Show up, voice concerns, get thanked for your input, then watch the project get approved anyway. It's like being invited to a dinner party where you get to smell the food but not eat it.

The process exists, the boxes get checked, the requirements get met. But does anyone really believe that tonight's meeting will fundamentally change whatever Wood Rogers is planning to propose? Or is it just another step in a predetermined dance toward approval?

The real question isn't whether tonight's meeting will be informative or whether Wood Rogers will make a compelling presentation. They're professionals; of course they will.

The real question is whether the community input gathered tonight will actually matter when decisions get made. Will concerns raised by residents carry the same weight as the relationships built through campaign contributions and professional networking?

So head on over to Lakeridge Golf Course tonight at 5:30 PM if you want to participate in this grand democratic tradition. Ask hard questions, voice your concerns, and engage with the process. Just don't be surprised if it feels a little like watching a movie where you already know the ending.

And hey, maybe we'll be wrong. Maybe this will be the one developer-sponsored meeting where community input actually changes the outcome. Maybe Wood Rodgers will listen to resident concerns and significantly modify their proposal. Maybe the council will prioritize neighborhood character over campaign relationships.

Stranger things have happened in Reno politics. Not many, but some.