Aiazzi said all three municipalities should be involved because the proposed development was put in Reno's annexation area in a settlement over the regional plan. Each entity was granted large expansion areas to last for decades to put an end to border feuding.

Bob Fulkerson, head of Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada and a member of Voices for Sustainable Washoe County, wasn't surprised by the invitation.

"It's just ironic that every time citizens want to take action on growth and water issues, the response of developers and local governments is 'let's create a task force,'" he said. "We have been down that road before."

Having a seat at the table, Fulkerson said, won't stop the petition drive for 22,000 signatures to put sustainable growth questions on the ballot.

"If anything, it shows we got their attention," he said.

In a survey done for the group this week, 59 percent of voters contacted support a proposed ballot question that would limit cities to annexing only land on their borders. Federal lands separate Spring Mountain from the city.

Erik Holland, president of Voters for Sensible Growth group, said he remains opposed to the development and favors growth closer to the urban core. But he will accept the invitation.

"We have been working hard on this," he said. "He has heard us and wants to bring us to the table. That's good."

Proposed zoning for Spring Mountain would allow up to 12,000 homes on 6,105 acres about 30 miles north of downtown Reno and west of Pyramid Lake. A public hearing on the zoning case before the council was delayed a month and rescheduled for May 28.

Arlo Stockham, planning manager for Spring Mountain, said he looks forward to participating in the task force meetings.

"We think it's good to get factual information out there," he said. "We are very proud of our project."

Under the proposed development plan, the new town could be governed by annexation, through agreements with the city for services or through a general improvement district. The project can't be built until one of the three options is in place, Stockham said.

Efforts by local officials for a change in state law to allow for noncontiguous or island annexations failed in the Nevada Legislature last year.

To back that up, the citizens groups are seeking signatures for a ballot initiative to ban island annexations in Washoe County.

Councilwoman Jessica Sferrazza said the ban could have unintended consequences. If Spring Mountain pays only for its services through a general improvement district, for instance, it would not be paying added city taxes to support services in Reno.

Other results of the survey show 62 percent of voters support local government land- use plans being balanced with identified and sustainable water resources in the county. And 63 percent of voters give local government a rating of mediocre to failing for managing the area's growth and development. About 24 percent gave local leaders an A or B.

The survey was conducted by Research 2000 of Rockville, Md., on 600 likely voters from March 31 to April 3 and has a margin of error of 4 percent.