A round up on the County Commission’s agenda items

A zone change to neighborhood commercial and a master plan amendment was approved by Nye County Commissioners on Wednesday for a four-acre recreational vehicle park 330 feet east of the intersection of the Homestead Road and Mickey Street, just north of Lakeside Casino, one of several planning items on the agenda.

The Pahrump Regional Planning Commission last month voted 6-0 with one abstention to recommend approval for the application submitted by Millennium Investments LLC. It will include 61 RV spaces, but plans were scrapped for a 234-square-foot water feature due to water concerns in Pahrump Valley. The developers also won’t be able to build a convenience store for RV guests, since it is less than the 10-acre minimum size allowed in Nye County Code for a store.

Zolina Burson, representing the Burson Family Ranch nearby, complained about the dropping water table in the area. Developers plan to use a commercial well and septic system.

• Belaluz Solar LLC was granted a zone change from village residential to rural homestead residential and a master plan amendment for 75.97 acres at 6631 N. Sharpe Ave. and 6630 N. Crest Ave. for a 15-megawatt, photovoltaic solar project. Randall Bell, a representative of Belaluz Solar, said it will be enough electricity to power 2,000 homes. It will be located in a remote part of northeastern Pahrump Valley.

• County code was amended to make it a crime to file a false report with Nye County Animal Control. Deputy District Attorney Marla Zlotek said state law already makes it a misdemeanor citation, adding it to county code gives Nye County Animal Control officers the ability to enforce it. Zlotek told County Commissioner Butch Borasky the animal control officers weren’t sworn sheriff’s deputies.

• Commissioners passed an amendment to county code requiring special use permits for above ground utility projects not located in a utility corridor in the county master plan. State law mandates the requirement. Planners should determine if the projects won’t interfere with existing or planned infrastructure and whether projects greater than two acres will be close to schools, hospitals or residential areas.

• The Pahrump Town Board representative to the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission was deleted, as the Town Board will cease to exist Jan. 5. Bill Dolan is currently the town board liaison to the Planning Commission. The town board seat will be replaced by another citizen at large on the seven-member board. Appointed RPC board members serve four-year terms beginning July 1 of that year. They receive $40 for attending the monthly meeting and are allowed up to a maximum of $200 per month.

• Commissioners set a date of Dec. 16 for a hearing on adoption of the revised master plan for the Pahrump Regional Planning District. They also set that date for a hearing on a bill that will remove the ability of the Nye County Commission to review RPC decisions on variances, special use permits or other exceptions.

• An amendment development agreement with PV Land Investments LLC will be considered at that same meeting. Dan Scott, manager of Desert Badger LLC, wrote to the county commission he purchased land from CM PV Land 1 LLC, which was formed to hold the land upon foreclosure from PV Land Investments, but the land is encumbered by a previous development agreement. The property is along Thousandaire Boulevard just west of Highway 160. It was originally planned as part of the 900-acre Gateway master planned community in 2006, which permitted the construction of up to 6,200 homes.

“I am presently in negotiations with a prospective buyer who would like to utilize the parcels for the development of a large solar project. However, because the property is under the development agreement the buyer would not be able to develop the project,” Scott wrote.

Scott will also be requesting a a zone change to light industrial to permit a renewable energy generating facility.

• A revised Nye County Solid Waste Management Plan was adopted, which has already been approved by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. It must be updated every five years to assure residents aren’t left with the financial obligation to clean up solid waste management facilities.

In 2005 the state Legislature required counties of 45,000 or more, which now includes Nye County, to establish recycling and household hazardous waste programs. It also incorporates a state Senate Bill addressing people who illegally dispose of cesspool or septic tank effluent or solid waste on public land. New fees were imposed to recover the cost of losses in the state hazardous waste fund.

The report said the Pahrump landfill received 44,144 tons of residential and commercial waste in 2013. Southwest Environmental Services reported 4,600 tons were recycled, a rate of 8.5 percent.

• County Commissioner Donna Cox voted against a standard $1 per parcel fee enacted annually to fund the Nevada Division of Water Resources. County Commissioner Frank Carbone asked for a report from the state engineer’s office showing where the money is spent.

• Borasky asked for a future agenda item to extend a moratorium on impact fees for another year when the current moratorium expires Jan. 31, 2015.