448 homes slated for Indian Road Subdivision

Developers have officially received the stamp of approval on the first tentative map for the proposed Indian Road subdivision, a residential community that aims to bring an additional 448 homes to the southeast side of the valley.

The Indian Road Subdivision is planned for a 115.53-acre parcel at the corner of Fox Avenue and Turner Blvd. The associated development agreement with L.I. Development LLC and Pahrump Utility Company Inc., both owned by the Hafen family, was originally approved by the Nye County Commission in January 2008. With a 10-year deadline, the agreement was scheduled to expire in February 2018 but an extension and amendment were granted just six months beforehand. The amendment limited the density of the development to an average of four dwelling units per acre as well as extending the time to begin filing maps by five years.

Another time extension was granted in 2020, which pushed the deadline to file the first tentative map from October 2022 to October of this year. It also shifted the deadline to file the last final map from October 2032 to October 2034.

The tentative map was up for discussion during the Nye County Commission’s March 19 meeting, where commissioner Donna Cox was the only one to speak against the item.

“There’s plenty of land out there but we don’t have much water,” Cox remarked, adding that she would prefer to see half-acre home sites at the very minimum. “I really hate to see this happen and so I can’t support it.”

Commission Chair Debra Strickland and fellow board member Frank Carbone both emphasized that the county is not in a strong position to refuse the action.

“It’s a binding document that we’re kind of stuck with,” Carbone said, while Strickland remarked, “The development agreement’s in place. We could challenge it and go to court but we’ll lose.”

Strickland explained that because the water situation in Pahrump’s Basin #162 has not yet reached the point that pump age is exceeding the perennial yield, no formal declaration of critical management has been made. As such, she felt that the courts would not side with Nye if the county were to challenge any of its existing development agreements.

However, Carbone noted that Nye County District Attorney Brian Kunzi is currently looking at options for negotiating with developers within the parameters of each specific development agreement.

Carbone also asked applicant Vicki Hafen-Scott, representing L.I. Development and Pahrump Utility Company, to clarify whether drainage had been taken into consideration when creating the tentative map, as recent storms have deluged the area south and west of the site in flood waters.

“There is a drainage plan that has been done for that property and it does recognize the water flows that are coming through there,” Hafen-Scott replied. “There are a number of berms along Fox Avenue that will be put in as part of that drainage… and it really should improve some of the problems below and to the west.”

Carbone made the motion to approve the tentative map, with a second from commissioner Bruce Jabbour. The motion passed 4-1 with Cox the sole vote against.

There is still plenty to do before developers can commence construction. L.I. Development and Pahrump Utility Company will have to work through the site development process with Nye County Planning and secure approvals from a variety of regulatory agencies such as the Nevada Division of Water Resources and Nevada Department of Environmental Protection. Once all of the preliminary steps are complete, the final subdivision map can be submitted for approval.

“This tentative map is an approval for the 448 lots, how they are laid out, where the roads are, that kind of thing,” Nye County Planning Principal Planner Qiana Medici reiterated. “There are drainage studies to be done, there are traffic studies that are completed and all of these things will happen before we come back with a final map.”

As detailed in the backup information attached to the agenda item, the Indian Road Subdivision is proposed to be built in five phases, beginning as early as this year and continuing through 2035, depending on market conditions. The first phase calls for 84 residential lots, the second for 99, the third for 107, the fourth for 94 and the fifth for the remaining 64 lots. Phase one would also include construction of the lot for the sewer lift station and two park lots are slated to be developed in phases one and five which, when combined with planned open space, will total 6.8 acres.

“A 15-foot wide equestrian trail along the north, west and southern sides of the residential area will be provided in addition to the proposed community park and open space areas,” a letter from developers noted.

Access to the subdivision is to be provided at two locations along Fox Avenue, at Comanche Drive and Cheyenne Way, and one location on Turner Blvd. at Ralph Court.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com