RV park plans are underway

Construction company owner Rene Morales, a partner in a 213-space recreational vehicle park proposal at 500 S. Leslie St., said it will be a first-class RV resort similar to the one at Lakeside RV &Casino.

American Eagle RV and Resorts LLC has an application for a conditional use permit, zone change and master plan amendment which will be heard at the 6 p.m., Aug. 13 Pahrump Regional Planning Commission meeting. They plan to use 14 acres of a 55-acre parcel. Plans call for a three-acre lake on the property, similar to Lakeside’s which has a seven-acre artificial lake.

The applicants have to change the zoning from rural estates to general commercial. The master plan amendment asks to change it from a mixed use and low density residential land use to general commercial. American Eagle will also be required to obtain a conditional use permit. The parcel is on the west side of Leslie Street, which blocks Wilson Road from continuing farther west.

American Eagle RV and Resorts LLC includes Morales, Sophie Ideker, C.Y. Tom Jr. and Angel Investments Group Inc., all of Las Vegas. The limited liability corporation was formed last December, according to reports on file with the Nevada Secretary of State’s office.

“It’s a retirement community so there’s demand for that. What we’re building there is a first-class RV resort, similar to Lakeside,” Morales said. “We need employment in this community. We need economic development. We’ve got to create jobs. Hopefully people will support it.”

Nye County restricts artificial lakes, due to the water shortage. But Morales said the company has over 100 acre feet of water rights available but needs proof to keep current or they will lose them under the state engineer’s use it or lose it policy.

Karl Jakob, 791 S. Happy Lane, submitted a letter signed by other neighbors protesting the project. Jakob said putting in a three-acre lake would deplete the water table.

“Then the amount of traffic that will impact the residents if there is going to be an RV park and a three-acre lake, which no doubt will have a potential problem of mosquitos, which we do not need, plus the noise factor,” Jakob’s letter states.

He said there are already enough RV parks available to the public, some are not completely full even during peak visitor periods.

“We are also wondering if this is a ploy to someday build a casino if this RV park and lake does not come to fruition. We do not want a casino in this neighborhood. Rezoning this property to commercial will give anyone the opportunity to put a casino on that land and not have any repercussions from the residents,” Jakob’s letter states.

In October 2006 property owner Che Keav Taing applied for a master plan amendment and zone change to general commercial for a hotel/casino project on the 55-acre property. But the project was withdrawn without prejudice, allowing it to be resubmitted. The owner didn’t have a site plan and the RPC didn’t feel a casino was appropriate for the location.

CivilWise Services resubmitted plans for Taing showing a 462,500 square foot shopping center instead of the hotel/casino project in January 2007. The RPC recommend approval of rezoning 23 acres to general commercial. The request this time is to rezone the entire 55 acres.

Since the project wasn’t developed after 2007 it normally would revert to the previous zoning, however the county no longer has open use zoning since the adoption of the Pahrump master plan.

A Nevada Division of Water Resources report at the time said there were 125 acre feet of water rights per year available for the property, which would have been hooked up to public water and sewer a quarter-mile to half-mile away.