Nye land division ordinance moves forward
A set of regulations that seeks to amend Nye County Code chapters that have to do with subdivision and division of land in Nye County moved forward to the county commission.
The proposed ordinance relates to all lands and areas in Nye County, however it excludes the Pahrump Regional Planning District. It proposes to amend all the minimum lot sizes which may be created and water rights relinquishment requirements within Amargosa Valley Basin 230.
On Nov. 19, the Amargosa Valley Town Board voted to recommend to Nye County commissioners the recommendation from the Pahrump Planning Committee regarding the proposed ordinance. The document was first sent to the Nye County Water District Governing Board who approved it on Monday.
The proposal addresses the increasing demand for water as more land is made available for development in the Amargosa Valley. The new requirements stipulate a minimum of 5 acres plus supply of 2 acre feet of water to new parcels and a minimum of 2.5 acres for subdivisions.
Nye County Planning Director Darrell Lacy said that the ordinance would apply only to future and not existing lots where it would provide protection against an unlimited number of wells and septics on small lots.
"The old ordinance actually has kind of a loophole where you can create a larger five-acre parcel without bringing water rights to the table, so that plugs that loophole," Lacy said at the Monday meeting.
There are separate ordinances for Pahrump and for the rest of the county. Water rights relinquishment and minimum parcel size have already been changed for the Pahrump Regional Planning District. The 2.5-acre minimum lot size for subdivisions however wasn't changed for Pahrump.
"Amending this ordinance only addresses things outside of the Pahrump Regional Planning District," he said.
The proposal is consistent with the changes that have been proposed for the relinquishment of water rights and subdivision in the Pahrump Valley, according to documents.
The current ordinance requires all new parcels created in Pahrump to have water relinquishment. Outside of Pahrump, the existing ordinances require smaller parcels in Amargosa to relinquish water at 2 acre feet per lot.
Contact reporter Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @dariasokolova77
