Vasili Platunov, the owner of Est-Alfa K-9 Security Services, LLC filed a lawsuit against Nye County alleging that his property use that currently houses over 100 dogs had been grandfathered.
In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, Thomas Gibson, Platunov’s attorney, argued that Platunov’s use of his property complied with regulations that were in effect in 2007 when Platunov moved to Pahrump, but “doesn’t conform with currently applicable use regulations set forth in the county ordinance which amends definitions and uses allowed by conditional use permits in certain residential zoning districts.”
“The Regional Planning Commission is not permitted to put conditions on Vasili Platunov’s use of his property as he was grandfathered in as a legal nonconforming use,” according to the lawsuit.
“Regardless of Vasili Platunov’s legal nonconforming use being grandfathered in, the Regional Planning Commission has demanded Vasili Platunov become compliant with Nye County codes that are not applicable to him. Thus, the decisions made by the planning commission on Vasili Platunov’s use of his land cannot be enforced,” the lawsuit said.
In addition, Platunov filed a petition for a judicial review, and a writ of mandate directing Nye County to uphold Platunov’s grandfathered nonconforming use.
In 2009, Platunov was told by Nye County Planning Department that he needed a conditional use permit (CUP) to approve the use of his property regarding his dog ownership.
The lawsuit states that in 2009, Platunov was “misled” by the Nye County Planning Commission that he needed to file for the permit to be in compliance.
In 2010, Platunov received a permit which authorized him to house 30 dogs. According to the lawsuit, “the RPC arbitrarily, and without authority, put conditions on Vasili Platunov’s grandfathered CUP.”
In 2015 Platunov asked for an additional number of dogs to be added to his conditional use permit after the number of dogs on his premises grew to 130. The request was denied by the planning commission.
According to the lawsuit, Platunov “simply increased the number of dogs he had on his premises, consistent with his legal nonconforming use, as well as updating and installing new equipment to maintain said dogs.”
After Platunov filed an appeal, former commissioner Frank Carbone made an agreement with him to remove dogs by April 2017, according to the documents.
The lawsuit stated that when Platunov realized that he wouldn’t be able to meet that time limitation, he requested an extension of time, at which time his conditional use permit was “capricously” revoked and he was ordered to reduce the number of dogs to 10, and refrain from operating his breeding program.
On Nov. 9, the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission denied Platunov’s request to modify a use permit to allow 130 dogs on his property. The planners stated that “the conditional use is not designed, constructed, and operated to be harmonious and appropriate in appearance with the existing or intended character of the general vicinity” and would be disturbing to existing or future neighboring uses due to the volume of barking and potential for odors.
The lawsuit disputed these claims, stating that the modification sought by Platunov is not “excessive and has been outfitted to minimize the impact of animals on the surrounding neighborhoods.” It also says that the modification would be a “substantial improvement” to the community as a whole.
On Dec. 5, Platunov filed a formal appeal to the Regional Planning Commission’s decision, which was denied on Jan. 17.
At the Nye County Commission meeting on Tuesday, officials were going to consider authorizing the Nye County District Attorney to pursue legal action regarding dogs kept in violation of Nye County code, but didn’t take any action following the announcement of Platunov’s lawsuit.
Tim Sutton, Nye County deputy district attorney, who has been assigned to the case said he hasn’t seen the lawsuit yet, but said the county will “respond accordingly.”
Gibson, an attorney with Pahrump’s Gibson Law Group didn’t return a request for comment.
Contact reporter Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @dariasokolova77