MARK WAITE / PVT Real estate signs line Amargosa Farms Road, leading local officials to worry about unchecked growth similar to what happened in Pahrump during the 1970s. Advertisement

AMARGOSA VALLEY -- Town advisory board Chairwoman Jan Cameron, almost choking back tears, urged Nye County commissioners last week to adopt the Amargosa Valley area plan without delay.

"We're going to get raped just like Pahrump has by developers. They've found us. There are developers in the parceling process, trying to bypass the subdivision process, so that the infrastructure is not being developed. They're being allowed to do whatever they want," Cameron said.

What set Cameron off was a comment by Nye County Commission Chairman Gary Hollis that he wanted to continue the item to a later date to study it. Hollis said he received a copy of the plan only last week.

(Commissioners agreed to review the plan during the next meeting yesterday in Tonopah. A separate request to create a regional planning commission in Amargosa Valley was tabled until Dec. 4.)

The concept of an Amargosa Valley area plan was first suggested by former Nye County Commissioner Jeff Taguchi from Beatty in 1999. But Amargosa town officials said emphatically no, to planning at the time.

Since then, rapid parceling of lots has led to concerns. Realtor John Buchanan, for one, is eyeing up Crystal Heights as a subdivision to house workers on spin-off industries from Yucca Mountain like the Gateway Project, proposed by Nye County officials on 900 acres surrounding Gate 510.

Cameron said a nine-member subcommittee looked at parcels to see what was available in terms of utilities and resources and gather input.

"We don't want our community parcelled down to 5,000-home developments," subcommittee member Shelia Rau said.

While Pahrump had back-to-back farms when a regional planning district was formed, Rau, an Amargosa Valley resident since 1956, said they have mostly public land and little patented property.

"We went to everyone here and talked to them. If there was a community plan, that's it," Rau said.

The Amargosa Valley town board recommended approval.

An existing Amargosa Valley planning board is almost impotent. Cameron said it is largely confined to asking about road rights-of-way, easements and boundaries for parcels.

During the discussion at the Amargosa Valley Community Center Tuesday, Nye County Commissioners Butch Borasky and Peter Liakopoulos pointed out one glaring error: Each wondered why the Amargosa dairy wasn't included in the plan. Cameron said it was an oversight. Liakopoulos said the Amargosa Dairy provides 210 local jobs, $21 million in personal income in Nye County and nearly $4.3 million in taxes.

The valley's economic base listed in the area plan includes one mining company, two tree farms, one boarding school, one casino/hotel and three convenience stores.

The current economic picture got a little dimmer however, with the closure of the Fort Amargosa truck stop on Highway 95 in Lathrop Wells. The Stateline Casino, a bar on Highway 373 at the California state line, has been closed for some time. The LongStreet Inn and Casino closed its restaurant and hotel for the slow, summer season this year.

Many of the existing developments still resemble mirages on the wide-open desert horizon, with only 1,379 residents in a sprawling valley of 575 square miles. By contrast, Pahrump Valley has 38,068 people in 286 square miles. Nye County Manager Ron Williams said Amargosa Valley has perhaps 2,000 parcels, as opposed to almost 50,000 parcels in Pahrump Valley.

State planner Skip Canfield suggested Amargosa Valley create a planning district that would draw up a more detailed plan, Cameron said. That would require more planning staff, she said.

"I believe if they take care of these things now, they won't have the issues Pahrump suffered through these past 10 years, and I would really like that to happen," Nye County Commissioner Roberta "Midge" Carver said.

"This document, I look at it as a policy document basically," said Nye County Planning Director Jack Lohman. "Take these policies and have a map that has the land use designations on it. We'll move as expeditiously as we can ... This will be a blueprint for the community. We want to make sure all things line up properly."

"The pleasure the Pahrump meeting brings me, I would not want to wish that on any other community in this county," Liakopoulos said jokingly.