Variance of short-term rental septic certification
New regulations for short-term rentals in the valley went into effect this summer and owners of these air b-n-b-style establishments must now register with the town of Pahrump by no later than Nov. 2.
However, some of the requirements associated with registration have proven to be problematic or even impossible.
As a result, officials have approved a variance for one specific section of the new code which addresses short-term rental septic systems.
Under Pahrump Town Ordinance 74, Chapter 8, short-term rental owners were to hire a Nevada licensed engineer to provide certification of the maximum number of people a private septic system could handle. But that’s not something the state of Nevada requires, or even uses as a definition, instead relying on the number of bedrooms in a home to determine septic capacity.
“My office handles the town of Pahrump business licensing and the new short-rental registrations. The bill went into effect in August, we are currently in our 90-day process to bring everybody into compliance, so we are having some growing pains – both for them (short-term rental owners) and us,” Nye County Administrative Manager Samantha Tackett told Nye County commissioners, sitting as the governing board for the town of Pahrump, during the board’s Oct. 7 meeting.
“One of the major topics that we are running into is that, we’re asking for a letter to identify specs that aren’t a requirement or don’t exist in the state of Nevada,” Tackett explained. “And also, obtaining the services of a licensed or certified engineer to provide a stamp is a hardship for our applicants, it’s very expensive – several hundred dollars or more… We want that variance to make this easier for our registrants and for staff, for the town of Pahrump and code enforcement, for Nye County Planning.”
Nye County Manager Brett Waggoner added that the variance is meant to capture the true intent of that section of code, which is to preserve public health and safety, with which commissioner Debra Strickland agreed.
“The concern is basically that the septic is in functioning condition, that it is not in need of service,” Waggoner stated and Strickland concurred. “For this need, that a septic tank be dug up and inspected and looked at to see if it’s functioning properly… that doesn’t take an engineer. That actually takes a septic tank pumper and we have several in town… So, that seemed a viable alternative. Because really, all we’re trying to do is the health and safety portion of this… We want to make sure that when people go into a home where they are going to stay, they have the ability for the septic system to support them, ” she stated.
Before the item came to a vote, commissioner Ian Bayne asked to clarify so there would be no misunderstandings. “This is just an item that allows us to have a variance from this one law that we passed, for just the provision that requires a septic system to have some kind of engineering certificate presented?” Bayne inquired.
“That is correct,” Waggoner confirmed. “It would make it much easier and much less expensive. Just call a septic installer or septic service company and have them come out to make sure it is not full, that it is not failing.”
Strickland made the motion to approve the variance as presented, with a second from commissioner John Koenig. That motion passed unanimously.
But it’s not just this section of code that will be seeing adjustment moving forward. During the Oct. 7 discussion, Tackett noted, “It is one of many variances and/or amendments that we’re going to be requesting in the future. This is one of the first steps.”
Future changes appear to be something short-term rental owners desire, too, with two offering their assistance in the process of overhauling the ordinance as a whole.
“I am looking forward to working with Sam (Tackett) on this, because I think that this ordinance is extremely restrictive,” Liz Provenza Neth asserted. “For instance, the septic – we actually use less time in the homes than if they were managed [as a traditional rental].”
Mark Vinci, another short-term rental operator, chimed in, “Septic is one issue. The whole ordinance has a number of issues with over-burdensome unconstitutionality… Many of our hosts of short-term rentals have already met, we have a group of people who are willing to work with the town to develop an ordinance that does what the town needs, as well as being business-friendly and also good for the people who are visiting our town.”
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com
