By Mark Waite
Tjeng “Dora” To was granted a waiver for a residential kennel permit to keep 13 dogs at 6411 Gills Way by the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission Wednesday.
New planning regulations require anyone keeping over 10 dogs to get a commercial kennel permit.
A number of people wrote letters of support, though local veterinarian Dr. Suzanne Zervantian, a member of the animal advisory committee, criticized To’s multiple citations for not providing proper care of dogs at her shop, Pets in the City, on 7415 S. Durango St. in Las Vegas.
Zervantian added, “She was involved in the pet selling business in Clark County and should have known to check the requirements here in Nye County before proceeding to bring 13 dogs into her residential home here in Pahrump.”
Ms. To previously owned Country Pets, a store in the Pahrump Valley Junction Shopping Center.
Copies of letters of support from customers of Pets in the City were included for commissioners’ review, even a petition urging the reopening of the store.
Some property owners in her Pahrump neighborhood advocated limits on the number of dogs and their size. There were also concerns over setting a precedent.
The RPC postponed action on the request last month pending a recommendation from the animal advisory committee, which didn’t materialize. RPC member Mark Kimball, who was just elected chairman, decided to hear the request rather than postpone it again for a recommendation.
Sharon Walls, with Realty Executives, said she sold the home in May 2010 which sits on 2.25 acres with a manufactured home and oversized garage. Walls said there are hardly any homes on that street and no noise complaints.
“As a real estate agent here in Pahrump for 19 years, I have seen numerous problem pet owners and I assure you that she is one of the most knowledgeable pet owners I have met,” Walls said. “I have helped Dora to place dogs in private homes, to my family and friends, to help give the dogs good homes and for her to get her numbers of dogs down to a manageable number.”
Though the property is over two acres, it’s zoned VR-20, with a minimum lot size of 20,000 square feet, where residential kennels aren’t allowed.
RPC member John Koenig said that whole area should be rezoned to fit the larger lot sizes. County Commissioner Butch Borasky said consultants for Hogle Ireland who prepared the zoning map, put too much VR-20 zoning in Pahrump Valley. RPC member Terry Hand said the committee updating the master plan may look at eliminating the excessive VR-20 zoning.
In her limited English, To replied she understood the special conditions. They require periodic inspections by Nye County Animal Control; a zoning review before the issuance of any building permits for any structures that may be added; a ban on transferring the waiver to subsequent owners; and a limit of 13 dogs which must be for personal pets not exceeding 12 pounds, except for one big dog.
* LAST OPEN USES: Nye County Planning Director Steve Osborne said three final parcels still zoned open use were being rezoned.
A 1.1-acre parcel with a single family home at 2451 N. Leslie St., owned by Thomas and Joann Diviak, was rezoned to neighborhood commercial, the same as other properties on Leslie.
Osborne said the property owner was worried about taxes going up with the commercial zoning. But he added, “We have confirmed with the assessor’s office the property taxes will not go up until the property is developed for a commercial use.”
Hand wanted to be sure Diviak was notified of the zone change, which was requested by the RPC.
Greg Hafen II, one of two new members of the board, inquired about a standard condition that required the application to be automatically appealed to the Board of County Commissioners if the RPC decision goes against the recommendation of the public works department. Kimball said it’s boilerplate language that doesn’t apply in this case.
Resident Tim McCall said if the owner had residential property that’s now zoned commercial it would create problems getting a mortgage.
Hafen said regardless of the zone change, property tax increases were capped at 3 percent per year.
“If he wants to debate it, he can come in and ask for a zone change, but we’ve been waiting on this property and the other two for I’d say just about two years,” Kimball said.
Another 4.05-acre property at 280 E. Wilson Rd. was rezoned from open use to neighborhood commercial. Osborne said the previous applicant had rezoned it neighborhood commercial, but it reverted back to open use when the owner, Verde Group LLC, didn’t develop the property within three years.
A parcel just under one acre at 731 S. Bolling Rd. was also rezoned from open use to neighborhood commercial.
* HOW TEMPORARY? Osborne was given the go-ahead to draft revisions to the county code on temporary use permits. While certain uses are allowed under county code, like temporary use permits to live in a trailer while a site-built home is under construction, he said other uses are not, like a church occupying an existing building.
When questioned by RPC member Vicky Parker, Osborne said a specific case is the Shadow Mountain Fellowship, which is occupying the former Willow Creek clubhouse. The property isn’t zoned for a church, he said. The fellowship has been using the church for going on two years.
“When we talk about a temporary use permit, you’re using terms like a year. That’s not temporary,” Hand said. “I could run a heck of a business in a year and make a lot of money and not have to be zoned.”
Borasky said often the county runs into situations that don’t fit, like Terry Dougherty’s Car Studio, a car wash and detailing business that was moved from the Smith’s Food and Drug Store parking lot next door to the Pahrump Nugget Casino parking lot in July 2009. That business was grandfathered in as an existing, non-conforming use under the new zoning map at Smith’s, but was prohibited from reopening in the Nugget parking lot because car washes weren’t one of the permitted uses specified in a general commercial zone.
“Because of the way our zonings read, we, code enforcement, pretty much kicked the guy out. It took four months to get something on the books to put it into general commercial where it should have been before,” Borasky said.
“They’re very, very embarrassing to the county. We’re prohibiting someone from doing what they had been doing if they moved 50 feet or 100 feet,” he said.
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- Horace Langford Jr. / Pahrump Valley Times – Terry Dougherty nailed up a sign critical of the RPC during his dispute with the county in 2009.
Who do I contact about a tatoo operation (“Have Gun Will Travel” mobile tatoo wagon) being open every night out in the driveway of a residential street? All of a sudden there is a lot of traffic in and out of a previously quiet area. Surely not that many people get tatoos every night. Me-thinks it’s a front for distributing illegal drugs…Plus, they are using the garage as a dog kennel for multiple dogs, (noisy and hot) and it stinks like dog feces all the way down the street when they hose it out every so often. Do I call the cops? The business license office? Anybody know?
Ms Walls needs to take another look at that street. There are other residents and one of the residents on that street already has a dog kennel. And after spending an evening outside at Sugar Magnolia’s bar, the dogs at that kennel make a heck of a lot of noise. So maybe it is good that all that racket is centralized in one area. Competition is always good, so the free market people claim.
I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY GAVE THIS WOMAN A WAIVER. I WENT INTO HER PET STORE WHEN IT FIRST OPENED AND COULD HARDLY BREATH. IT WAS HORRIBLE. DOGS WERE EXPENSIVE, ALOT OF THEM DID NOT HAVE PAPERS AND FROM WHAT I HEARD, THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO BOUGHT DOGS THAT WERE SICK. THIRTEEN (13) DOGS IS ALOT OF DOGS. I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY ARE GOING TO CALL THIS A KENNEL. I PRAY FOR THESE DOGS.
I also cannot believe a kennel permit was issued to this individual. She only cares about making a buck off the backs of these dogs and they will absolutely suffer in her hands – her abysmal track record proves this.
I CAN’T believe she was issued a permit. We bought a Bulldog from her in Vegas from “Pets in the City”. The dog was sick from the day we bought him at six weeks old until he was a year old or better. He was over vaccinated. We spent hundreds of dollars getting him well. On top of the $2600.00 we paid for the dog. All that woman cares about is MONEY! The store reeked or urine and feces. To give her a permit is ABSOLUTELY cruelty to animals. Where the hell is P.E.T.A in this case? What is wrong with Pahrump Regional Planning Commission?
“What is wrong with Pahrump Regional Planning Commission?”
Looks to me like nothing. They set parameters for her, she can’t add dogs and when they pass away they can’t be replaced.
You paid $2600.00 for a dog ??? what is wrong with you.
Sounds like everything you people are complaining about is all part of the free market system. In these cases you say we need regulation to protect the animals. How about some regulation to protect the children of our great country? You all are more concerned with your “four legged kids” than you are with the two legged ones. I hope you realize that your four legged kid will not be able to change your colostomy bag when it needs changing.
It still amazes me to see the power and influence that the animal rights activists have on local authorities and the public. They hire people to write things in the comment sections of every newspaper. Here’s a little info for you. The “Best Friends Animal Society” that harasses Pet Stores until they give up or go out of business collected over $37,000,000 in 2005 in donations. God knows how much they really have collected since then. Go see where all that money went. This is documented at a web site dedicated to exposing there real agenda and their origin. Can you say “Scientology”. Check it out at http://www.bestfriendsinfo.com
“A number of people wrote letters of support, though local veterinarian Dr. Suzanne Zervantian, a member of the animal advisory committee, criticized To’s multiple citations for not providing proper care of dogs at her shop, Pets in the City, on 7415 S. Durango St. in Las Vegas.”
This lady should get the facts before she starts making comments like this. Pets in the City was a very nice pet store. It was always clean and the animals were very well taken care of. If she was on the animal advisory committee, she was asleep. She would know that almost all of the citations against Miss To were dismissed. Can you say “innocent”
I think buisnesses with kennels needs to be checked on at leased twice a month for up keep heath and well being of all the animals in the kennels care.I use to work for Animal House.And no one ever checked on those poor animals.Plus They sale tons and tons of hay which is stored right next to the kennels with no way to put out a fire if the hey is to catch fire.Shouldnt that be cheched out.I just dont get it.Its all about money.