By james art 
Reno, Nev. Mayor Hilary Scheeve is pushing her city to loosen regulations that the mayor — and many housing advocates — say are stifling housing construction and driving up costs.
In an article for Business Insider, Eliza Relman explains, “Since January 2017, home prices have increased by 90% and rents have increased by 53% in Nevada, far outstripping national growth rates,” said Alex Horowitz, director of Pew Business Insider’s Housing Policy Project.”
According to Relman, “Under Shive, Reno loosened some of its regulations by allowing higher density, reducing parking requirements and lowering fees. As of 2019, the city says it has waived $11 million in sewer connection fees and $700,000 in building permit fees to help bring more than 2,000 units of affordable housing to market.
Asked about the two presidential candidates’ proposal to open up public lands for new housing, Scheeve says the issue is complex and must include considerations of infrastructure, services and conservation. For Schieve, the focus should be on existing town centers that offer many opportunities for infill development. “There’s still a lot of work for cities to build up, not out,” said Scheeve.