Melissa Hape, management assistant in the City of Reno Arts & Culture Department, presented a draft nomination to list a roughly one‑mile segment of East 4th Street on the National Register of Historic Places. The proposed district would run from Evans Avenue east to Carys Drive, extend a couple of blocks north and south of East 4th Street to include contributing buildings, and reflect the corridor's role as an early‑to‑mid‑20th‑century transportation, commercial and industrial artery.

Hape said the nomination is based on a phase‑1 and phase‑2 survey performed by Counts Environmental Consultants and funded in part by State Historic Preservation Office grants administered through the Department of the Interior. If properties are listed as contributing within a national historic district, owners may be eligible for federal rehabilitation tax credits — she cited a tax credit of up to 20% for qualifying construction costs.

Hape emphasized that National Register listing is largely honorary for private owners: it does not, by itself, restrict what an individual property owner may do with private property. She distinguished a national historic district from a local historic district: a local district created under municipal code would require owner consent and would impose locally administered review of exterior changes, while national listing does not create local design review.

Board members asked about boundaries, possible local overlays and the review schedule. Hape said consultants set the boundaries based on which buildings reflect the district's historic transportation theme and retain sufficient integrity; she acknowledged areas east of Carys Drive were more altered and less cohesive. She said the State Historic Preservation Office will notify property owners in December and the State Board of Museums and History is scheduled to review the nomination in March; if those steps go as expected the Keeper of the National Register could act by June 2026.

Anthony/Antonio Taylor raised a concern about a separate municipal code provision that allows local historic overlays; Hape said the two regimes are distinct and that a local historic district under chapter 18 would require notarized consent from every owner, which makes local designation unlikely for the corridor as a whole. Hape named two already‑listed national districts for context: Newlands and a portion of the university campus.

The presentation concluded with board members thanking staff and asking for links to nomination materials. Hape noted the nomination process includes multiple opportunities for property owners and the public to learn more and to register objections where allowed.

What happens next: the State Historic Preservation Office will send written notice to property owners; the State Board of Museums and History will consider the nomination in March, and the Keeper of the National Register could make a final decision by about June 2026 if the state review proceeds on schedule.