TONOPAH -- Areas outside of Pahrump will be governed by a Nye County Division of Land Ordinance effective Oct. 27.

Nye County commissioners passed a six-month moratorium on subsequent parcel map applications outside the Pahrump Regional Planning District last Nov. 27, which was allowed to expire May 27 without a new ordinance taking effect.

The bill passed by commissioners Tuesday is designed to target subsequent and contiguous parceling in Amargosa Valley, in an attempt to curb the circumvention of requirements under subdivision ordinances by developers.

Commissioners want to prevent a repeat of the carefree development of Pahrump in the 1970s, when many unbuildable lots were sold.

A previous ordinance was voted down May 5, just before the moratorium expired, after Commissioner Gary Hollis had problems with approving the bill at a location outside Amargosa Valley.

Jan Cameron, chairwoman of the Amargosa Valley town board, spoke in favor of the bill Tuesday.

The latest draft contains a concession to developers, waivers that could be granted if there are compelling reasons to grant a subsequent parcel map.

Waivers would be allowed if strict compliance with the requirements of the code may be served by an alternative proposal, possibly because of the physical surroundings.

The waiver can't be detrimental to public safety, health or welfare; it must be a condition unique to the property. A waiver is also written into the bill for any public facilities.

Nye County Planning Director Jack Lohman said the new ordinance, bill 2008-13, exempts Ralston Valley and Smoky Valley from a requirement to donate two acre feet of water rights per parcel since the population doesn't support it.

Planner Steve Osborne said they only have a verbal assurance from the state it would allow the exemption for those two water basins.

Lohman said Nye County would appoint an administrative officer under the bill who would have authority to approve various maps, providing there's substantial compliance with various conditions. Lohman said he may be appointed as that administrative officer.

Commissioner Butch Borasky said he wants a backup officer named who could approve parcel maps in case the planning director is out of the office.

Survey requirements are set out in the ordinance and a title report. Road construction requirements are spelled out.

When a bill was first introduced in May 2006 to curb subsequent and contiguous parceling by former Commissioner Patricia Cox, Tonopah developer Dirk Pearson accused commissioners of trying to rule as an imperial power from Pahrump.

That bill died for lack of a second.

The only public comment Tuesday came from Amargosa Valley developer Michael DeLee.

"What this bill does is it enhances the road construction requirements significantly and it makes a distinction between Beatty, Tonopah and Amargosa Valley and the rest of Nye County," DeLee said.

Nye County Public Works Engineering Technician Oz Wichman said the road requirements vary based on the type of gravel pit operators available in the area.

"We actually wrote these standards with input from the various communities, so when we end up we've got maintainable roads," Wichman said.

DeLee asked if the county did any cost projections on what the road improvements would cost a developer in Amargosa Valley who wants to develop a 10- or 20-acre lot in an area where traffic is minimal.

"Raising the bar without knowing what that will do to people who want to develop property is unfair," DeLee said. But he added, "It may be a little late in the game to get the county to reconsider this."

When the moratorium was enacted last November, DeLee charged a Division of Land Ordinance was an attempt to impose Pahrump-style zoning on Amargosa Valley, which has a lot more cows than people.

DeLee questioned a requirement to have maintained roads up to the edge of a property.

"I'm worried this is going to seriously hamper people's expectations that they have the ability to parcel their land," DeLee said.

Wichman said access to property is an issue the county tried to address in the ordinance, so when owners sell the lots, residents can actually get there without using a four-wheel drive vehicle.

Road access issues are already being enforced as evidenced by commission action on parcel map requests in Amargosa Valley decided later in the meeting.