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The six month moratorium imposed on subsequent and contiguous parceling of lots outside Pahrump by Nye County Commissioners Tuesday, is an attempt to impose zoning on Amargosa Valley, developer Mike DeLee said Tuesday.

"We don't want in a town of 1,200 people and 12,000 cows to have that level of government," DeLee said.

Comparisons were quickly drawn to the experience in Pahrump in the 1970s, when lots were parceled up by Preferred Equities Corporation. Many were later proved to be unserviceable and without public infrastructure.

"Amargosa Valley has encouraged people to buy property and develop property over the years with the idea it's not Pahrump," DeLee said.

Nye County Commissioner Joni Eastley, who introduced the proposal, said they only want to use the Pahrump ordinance enacted in 1996 as a guide to a county-wide ordinance.

"We're imposing more and more restrictions on Amargosa Valley," DeLee said.

Amargosa Valley residents want starry skies, not street lights, De Lee said. They also want affordable land prices, DeLee said no developer in "their right mind" would build curb, gutter, street lights, paved roads, water and sewer systems in Amargosa Valley.

The moratorium is to allow time to update the division of land regulations in Nye County, Eastley's memo states. Eastley told commissioners she was concerned about the protection of the ground water.

"Every time a parcel is created, a water right is created and many of our basins in Nye County are over-appropriated now," she said.

Eastley, who represents Amargosa Valley, Beatty and Tonopah, also mentioned a concern over developers circumventing subdivision laws to avoid putting in infrastructure, like paved roads, water and sewer.

DeLee said Nye County ordinance 135 already prevents developers from building unserviceable lots.

The moratorium doesn't prohibit all parceling of lots. It only applies to a second or subsequent parcel map for land that has been divided within the previous five years.

Nye County Chief Deputy District Attorney Ron Kent said the courts don't favor over-extended moratoriums. Kent said, "From a legal perspective, you only have one bite of the apple and it's very important you factor in work that needs to be done, as well as unintended issues that may come up."

Former Nye County Commissioner Patricia Cox proposed a moratorium on subsequent and contiguous parceling in areas outside Pahrump in May 2006. The motion died for lack of a second. Commissioners at that time hoped the Amargosa Valley town board would address the issue by adopting an area plan.

The Amargosa Valley town board passed an area plan last summer; it is still being considered by county commissioners. DeLee said the latest county proposals go far beyond what former Commissioner Cox wanted to do, which was merely regulate water rights.

Eastley initially suggested a one-year moratorium, but Commissioner Peter Liakopoulos thought even six months was too long.

Eastley said she wants a moratorium imposed long enough to get historical data about how many parcel maps the county planning department is processing. Town boards and individuals also may want to comment in a series of community meetings, she said.

The May 2006 proposal drew some angry comments from a few Tonopah residents about commissioners acting as an imperial power in Pahrump.

Eastley said the Beatty town advisory board members support the moratorium and controls over subsequent parceling. She wasn't too sympathetic to DeLee, claiming the Realtor was the only Amargosa Valley resident to complain about the moratorium.

"I'm here to ask for a moratorium on moratoriums," DeLee told commissioners. "We did see a rush of parcel maps come in, yes. Of course we should expect that. There's been changes in county ordinances and there's been a change in state law."

DeLee said former Commissioner Cox's concerns have already been taken care of with Senate Bill 275, passed by the Nevada Legislature this past session. The bill allows the state engineer to require the donation of water rights for new parcels. He said there won't be much parceling of lots if the state requires the donation of water rights.

DeLee said commissioners misapplied the law in denying a request by Jay Simpson to subdivide five acres into one 1.4 acre parcel and three 1.2 acre parcels on T and T Road last month.

One Amargosa Valley landowner, Raul Gil, owner of Casa Don Juan restaurant, wrote to commissioners, asking them to not impose the moratorium.

He has plans to subdivide a 154 acre parcel into four lots and further subdivide three 40 acre lots down to 12 acre lots for sale, keeping one 40 acre parcel for a retirement ranch.

That's a typical approach developers use in subsequent parceling -- dividing a large parcel into quarters, then coming back later and subdividing those parcels into small lots for sale.

If they submitted a subdivision map showing a large 160 acre parcel subdivided into small, one or two acre lots in one move, the developers would have to provide water rights and rough cut roads under the Nye County subdivision ordinance.

Nelson Vasquez, who represents Gil, wrote: "Our local commissioner, whom we hoped would listen to our concerns, has already publicly declared her support for the moratorium. We therefore ask the entire board to consider the lack of notice and the equitable and actual harm this board would cause, should it now impose a moratorium when there is no rational basis for so doing."