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April 30, 2004
Building permits besiege contracted inspection firm
By MARK WAITE The February building activity translates into almost three structures per day being permitted. Statistics from the Nye County Planning Department show the building and safety department issued 624 building permits since the current fiscal year began July 1, a 9 percent increase over the 532 permits issued for the entire previous fiscal year from July 1, 2002-July 1, 2003, with two months to go. The valuation of new property built so far this fiscal year adds up to $47.2 million, just shy of the $48.9 million for fiscal year 2002-03. The new Wal-Mart Superstore accounted for the healthy rise in property values in 2002-03, which spiked with $10.8 million in new building valuations in October 2002. Pahrump Building and Safety figures show there have been 196 building permits issued since Jan. 1 for single-family homes alone, almost half the 418 permits issued in all of calendar year 2003. A preference for larger homes is apparent in the March building report. The 54 single-family building permits issued that month had a combined 148,980 square feet, an average of 2,758 square feet per home. The combined valuation of $5.7 million would equate to roughly $106,466 per home. Inspectors were busy in March, conducting 703 inspections. Septic permits, flood inspections, residences, businesses and accessory structures are included. That's by far the busiest month so far, almost 100 more inspections than in January. Building permit fees brought in $457,991 since July 1, exceeding the $448,091 of the previous fiscal year. Total building and safety fees amount to $713,839 for this fiscal year, again exceeding the previous fiscal year, when $676,647 was collected. Pahrump Building and Safety issued 408 septic tank permits from July 1 through March, a number equal to about two-thirds of the total building permits. Another 345 septic permits were issued in the 2002-03 fiscal year. The Nye County Planning Department estimated there were 29,942 Pahrump residents as of Dec. 31, 2003, an increase of 795 people in just six months, or 4.3 people per day. |
