RENO, Nev. (AP) - The Washoe County Board of Adjustment has
approved plans by Mount Rose Ski Tahoe to upgrade the resort
southwest of Reno with a mountaintop restaurant, faster chairlifts
and a second snowmaking pond.

The board gave its unanimous support Thursday, the Reno
Gazette-Journal reported.

The projects covered under the special-use permit "are pretty
well thought out, good for the community and good for their
business," said Richard Cieri, a Board of Adjustment member.

Paul Senft, Mount Rose manager, expects work to begin next year
and continue over 15 years at a cost of $23.5 million. The board
required a major component to be built every five years to keep the
permit alive.

The planning board's approval is final unless an appeal is filed
with the County Commission.

A separate project to expand the resort by 99 acres has been
accepted for review by the U.S. Forest Service, Senft said, adding
that the project will be the subject of an intensive environmental
study that will take at least two years to complete.

The approved plans include a new lodge, to sit 20 feet below the
9,700-foot peak of Slide Mountain and be accessible only during ski
season. Diners would have views of Washoe Valley, Reno, Mount Rose and Lake Tahoe.

Plans also involve a 30,000-square-foot expansion of the
existing lodge; a new two-story building on the Slide Bowl side
with 500 to 1,000 lockers for season-pass holders; and a new pond
to store water for snow-making on the Mount Rose side.

The Ponderosa and Galena lifts would be replaced with a faster
lift with detachable cabins that are easier to load and unload
skiers.