Bill Settles Years Old Land Title Flaw

December 11, 2007

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign of Nevada introduced legislation today that would remove a restriction on a portion of the City of Reno’s land that hinders planned economic development. In 1866, the title of the land was granted to the Central Pacific Railroad, now Union Pacific, for construction of the nation’s first transcontinental railroad.

“By reducing downtown congestion and making downtown Reno safer for pedestrians and motorists, ReTRAC has been a tremendous success for the community. Now it’s time to take the next step,” said Reid. “The legislation that Senator Ensign and I introduced today clears the title on downtown land so that businesses can return to downtown Reno and economic redevelopment can march forward.”

 “The purpose of this land exchange was satisfied long ago, but because this outdated restriction has not been cleared up over the years, economic development projects along Reno’s train trench will be hindered without Congressional action,” said Ensign. “Let’s fix this once and for all.”

The United States kept a reversionary interest in the land to ensure that it was used to facilitate the building of a railroad. As part of the Reno Transportation Rail Access Corridor, or Reno ReTRAC, the railroad agreed to grant the City of Reno title to the land immediately surrounding the right-of-way for the project within the city. 

It is unclear whether the railroad had authority to make this conveyance given the Federal reversionary interest. Clearing title to these parcels is necessary for future economic development.

A similar bill was introduced and passed in the House of Representatives by Congressman Dean Heller.