MARK WAITE / PVT Frehner's equipment storage yard on South Hafen Ranch Road across from Shanda Lane looks well maintained. Advertisement

The fines are running up, $1,000 per day for Duane Frehner, of 5300 Hafen Ranch Road, who has been accused of being in violation of county zoning and dust control codes since last March.

An appearance before the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission scheduled for Aug. 9 was postponed a month at Frehner's request because he was unable to attend. At that time, the planning department estimated his total fines exceeded $180,000.

Frehner applied for a zone change for 2.5 acres listed in the master plan as open use to a general commercial use, which was to be heard Aug. 9. But the county planning department recommended his request be denied and administrative proceedings should be started against him.

The master plan outlined the property as medium-density residential.

The zoning request came well after he began developing the property as a storage yard for heavy equipment like graders, belly dumpers, water tankers and other equipment.

According to a chronology of events reported by the planning department, inspectors were informed about some work being done in front of Tim Hafen's house at 5300 S. Hafen Ranch Road. Frehner is Hafen's son-in-law. Inspectors found two acres of land were cleared and gravel was being placed on the property. The lot had been watered and inspectors reported there was no dust generation problem.

A check with the planning department found that no permits had been pulled for the work and no dust control permit.

Interim County Manager Ron Williams and others met with Frehner March 24 and told him he needed at least a zoning review and dust control plan before he could do any more work at the site, giving him a verbal stop- work order.

Three days later the planning department sent Frehner a written warning after noticing more gravel placed on the property. The inspector wrote Williams a message, "informing him of the letter and asking him to call either Tim Hafen or Duane Frehner to inform them of the numerous regulations they are violating by building this project without any permits."

The March 27 letter advised Frehner he was in violation of county code requiring a dust control plan for disturbing a half-acre or more of land. The letter, signed by Williams, told him to stop all work on the project except dust control operations. The county required a dust control plan be submitted.

On March 29, fencing went up and more gravel. The project was essentially complete by April 17, inspectors reported. Today it looks like a well-maintained, clean, gravel lot surrounded by a six-foot cyclone fence.

While previous correspondence involved violations of the dust control plan, a May 20 letter from Nye County Code Compliance Officer Barbara Taylor noted Frehner violated county code by operating a storage yard on property listed in the master plan as medium-density residential without going through a zoning review. The operation of a storage yard at the property requires a master plan amendment to a commercial zone, a zone change and a conditional use permit, Taylor wrote.

Frehner's response, written June 21, states, "When I acquired the property at 5300 Hafen Ranch Road I thought it was zoned for open use because it had been part of a ranch / farm for more than 50 years. The property is directly east of, and continues on to, my property where I reside and for security reasons it made good reason to turn this property into an equipment storage yard."

Frehner said it's a private equipment storage yard, so there's no need for public utilities or public services. The yard shouldn't have a detrimental impact on adjacent properties, which are mostly vacant, he wrote.

"For the past six years I have been working on the Artesia development and expect to continue working on the south side of the valley for several more years. We are a small construction company and do not create a lot of traffic," Frehner wrote. He added, "the yard has been well watered to prevent dust."

Cheryl Beeman, interim planning director, said it's probably a unique situation in that the property owner appeared to completely disregard the zoning process.

"I don't know if we have an instance where we have documented it to this extent," Beeman said.

She added some citizens bought property they thought was commercial property, set up a business, then found out it was residential.

The item will be one of 53 items to be considered by the RPC Sept. 13. Frehner didn't respond to requests for comment.

David Cleveland, president of Valley Homes Inc., ended up getting relief recently from $9,313 in threatened fines over the dust control ordinance.

Cleveland appeared before the Compliance Review Committee. He said the county inspector claimed he was disturbing 0.65 acres, as measured with a global positioning system device. Cleveland said the property in question was less than a half-acre, the minimum acreage by which a dust control plan would be required.

The planning department had suggested suspending the fine, providing there are no other dust control violations by Valley Homes over the next year.