A pair of proposed bars in abandoned buildings will have to wait a little longer to open before thirsty patrons can imbibe their favorite libations.

Rockingham Capital Partners was turned down on a request to rezone five acres where the old Donut Shop stood on Wilson Road from neighborhood commercial to mixed use.

Only RPC member Dan Schinhofen voted in favor, saying it was a conforming zone change. RPC Chairman mark Kimball complained the applicant didn't show up to answer questions.

The Donut Shop was opened in 2002 but soon went out of business. It was constructed before Nye County instituted the site development review process. Planners said the building would have to be brought into compliance.

Planner Beth Lee said developers told her it would be a sports bar serving some food.

Chris Smith, 290 Slater Circle, objected to a restaurant and bar in his neighborhood. He said a previous request to rezone the property for a doctor's office was turned down.

Lee told RPC member Norma Jean Opatik the proposed location is 1,900 feet away from the nearest churches or schools. Nye County code prohibits serving liquor within 1,500 feet of those establishments except in a general commercial district, where the minimum distance is only 200 feet.

RPC member Jacob Skinner's motion to continue the item to the next meeting failed 5-2.

"I have a problem with bars being located in residential areas," Skinner said, recalling having been asked by drunks for a ride outside his mother's house. "In relation to this particular bar, it's close to Ishanti Ridge (subdivision). There will be a lot of homes in there eventually."

A waiver application to allow the Silver Strike Tavern to open in the former Nevada Division of Motor Vehicles Building at 1360 E. Basin Ave., without the usual landscaping and parking requirements, was withdrawn.

County Planning Director Jack Lohman said the planning department could work out the details without commission approval.

The property owner, Michael Pemberton, quibbled with the RPC during a lengthy discussion over a requirement to have 20-foot parking spaces instead of 17 feet. He also wanted to install 2,539 square feet of landscaping instead of the required 3,116 square feet on the half-acre property.

Pemberton received county commission approval to rezone the property from open use to light industrial in January 2007, to allow for liquor sales. The DMV moved to a new building farther east on Basin Avenue last year. The old DMV building was constructed in 1994.

Planner Beth Lee said it would involve only a simple redesign of the parking and landscaping layout to meet the standards.

Schinhofen said waivers are normally granted only in case of a hardship.

"We're going to have a lot of activity serving alcohol and he wants sub-standard parking spaces to cram as many people in that lot. I don't think it will serve his business well," Lohman said.

Opatik asked, "We do have a code, and if you're going to throw it away every time someone doesn't like it, what's the use in having the code?"

One bar is on a quicker track to open. The Nye County Licensing and Liquor board Tuesday will consider a request for a liquor license for in-Dulj Bistro and Liquor, 3610 Hwy. 160, in the new Edwards Professional Center shopping mall.