Officials approve off-premise sign amid concerns

The Pahrump Regional Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit for an off-premise advertising sign amid safety concerns from a group of residents in a nearby subdivision.

The conditional use permit will allow the developer of the Burson Ranch subdivision, Beazer Homes Holding Corp., to put an off-premise advertising sign on a 20-acre parcel that is bordered by Highway 160 and a paved right-of-way.

Officials postponed a decision on the sign at the Jan. 11 meeting after a group of residents said they hadn’t been given a chance to comment on the proposed sign.

Since then, the Nye County Planning Department received four letters from residents at Rogers Estates, all of whom were against the proposed sign.

Lloyd Hohl told planners that Rogers Estates, the closest residential subdivision to the proposed sign, has “a dangerous egress and regress situation” leading to Highway 160.

“We are the only residential area off (Highway) 160 that does not have proper turn lanes. We need four turn lanes; we only have one… There have been some accidents there,” Hohl said at the Tuesday meeting.

He also argued that many times, residents are “forced” off the road to safely make the return from eastbound Highway 160 to Osky Street.

“Westbound traffic flow is reducing from two lanes to one lane and creating closer vehicle separation at a very high speed. Two streets intersect (Highway) 160 at this point with only one exit lane where four lanes are required. To place a billboard sign in this area designed to deflect attention from the road only adds to an already unsafe condition,” Hohl said.

Meghan Ramos, regional marketing manager at Beazer Homes, said this was the only available location and the sign will be over 1,000 feet past the turnoff to Rogers Estates.

“As a general rule, you want it to be within 500 feet going 75 miles per hour to be able to read the sign, so those travelers going north or northwest would have to be much past the turnoff to Rogers to be able to read the sign,” Ramos said.

“We believe that there’s a limited amount of risk in there being so close to the intersection that it would cause any kind of issue,” Ramos said.

In response to the concerns, Ramos proposed to make a sign single-faced and face traffic coming in from Las Vegas.

Officials also added that Beazer Homes would have to come back in 18 months to renew the permit. The developer is also subject to a number of special conditions that were outlined in the documents.

The proposed sign is approximately 16 feet in width and 8 feet in height, with 7 feet of ground clearance. The top edge of the sign would be approximately 15 feet above the ground, according to the documents.

The Nye County Planning Department said that the proposed use is temporary and will not be “hazardous or disturbing” to existing or future neighboring uses, and will not involve disturbing factors such as noise, traffic, odors or vibrations.

Beazer Homes’ Burson Ranch development is located approximately 2.4 miles away from Highway 160, according to the documents. There are currently no advertising signs on Highway 160 or Manse Road to inform potential buyers.

Ramos said if the firm continues to sell houses in the subdivision for more than two years, the sign will have to be updated.

“The likelihood that that sign would be there for an extended period of time is very unlikely,” she said. “Could we still be selling there in two or three or four years? It’s very likely, very possible. We would like to be sold out within a year, but it’s our intention to keep the sign in good-looking order and be pleasant to look at and not be a detriment to the area around it.”

Contact reporter Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @dariasokolova77