HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Terry Dougherty, the owner of Car Studio, a car washing and detailing company located along Highway 160 in the Pahrump Nugget parking lot, puts up a warning sign showing his displeasure at being closed down in May. He took it down after just two hours. Advertisement

It's amazing how three little words can change a person's life.

The words "I love you" can lead to marriage, while "guilty as charged" can mean a life behind bars.

In Terry Dougherty's case, the absence of three words "car/truck wash" -- mistakenly left out of a town code -- put him out of business in May.

His five employees have no jobs and Dougherty could lose his home and ranch, which is a designated 501(c)(3) charitable dog rescue where 54 dogs and 60 cats are housed.

Dougherty admits he's desperate and will do anything to get back to work, even if it means speaking out about the technicality the framers of the code acknowledge needs to be corrected.

In May, Dougherty moved Car Studio, his car washing and detailing business, from the Smith's Food and Drug parking lot, where he'd been successfully operating since 2005, to the parking lot next door at the Pahrump Nugget. That's when his troubles began.

Both parking lots are designated as general commercial (GC) zones. While GC zones permit automobile repair facilities, new and used auto sales and storage or even service stations, there is no specific designation for a car wash.

During the time Car Studio was located at Smith's, a new code was recommended by the town's Regional Planning Commission (RPC) and approved by the Nye County commissioners. Called a commercial manufacturing (CM) zone, the code lists "car/truck wash" as a permissible use, along with a wide range of 47 other permitted uses.

According to County Commissioner Butch Borasky, Car Studio was grandfathered in at Smith's but would be operating outside the law at its new location.

"We are not trying to put him out of business," said Borasky. "'Car wash' should have been part of the general commercial zone. It's a mistake. But we can't make exceptions or overlook the law for one business without doing the same for all businesses.

"If people want to change the codes, they can be changed. But there is a process. It takes one to three months. You can't snap your fingers and try to accommodate everyone."

Borasky said the text change necessary to add Dougherty's business to the commercial manufacturing zone must be reviewed and approved by the Regional Planning Commission and then submitted to the county commissioners for final approval.

Like all ordinances, after the text of the code is changed and adopted by the county commissioners, it must be published in the newspaper. There is a wait of 30 days before it becomes law.

"It will be on the next RPC agenda," said Borasky. "We will ask for recommendations from that board to our board."

Dougherty is afraid he'll be out of business for good by then.

"It's not like I am a brand-new business in town," he explained. "I started out 16 years ago with a bucket and a hose, under the name Pahrump Valley Mobile Detailing."

All these years later, Dougherty said Car Studio is newly franchised and available in 27 states.

"It just cost me $110,000 to get it franchised, but until I get this fixed, I can't even bring a prospective franchisee here to see a successful operation because we're closed," he said. "I want to show interested people a prosperous business but now there is nothing I can do. I am losing $300 each day I'm closed.

"I have to work. I have to pay my suppliers. Since everyone agrees that only a text change needs to be added to the code, I don't see why they can't let me stay in operation until the change is made. It's their fault they left car wash out of the permissible usages for the commercial manufacturing zone. The zone change was made even though my business and several other car washes were operating in the new zone."

Dougherty maintains he is a good vendor with almost $2 million of insurance. He said he brings in business for other businesses in nearby locations.

"I'm in the cleaning business. We clean everything in our area. The Nugget already keeps the parking lot spotless, but with us here it's going to be even cleaner than spotless. We clean garbage out of the gutter and pick up everyone's cigarette butts. We did the same thing at Smith's."

Dougherty explained that his lease was up at Smith's and said the grocery store is planning to redesign its store and parking lot, possibly moving Burger King closer to the front of the lot for easier vehicle access.

Borasky said, "We have bent over backwards for this man."

Dougherty finds that hard to believe. "I was told the original problem was that my building could not be there on a permanent basis under the current code. They said I could start a new mobile company. I tried that, but Car Studio is now a franchise and I have to keep it within the parameters of the franchise I created.

"Besides, the building I use for an office isn't on a foundation or tied down. It's free standing. The building is like an RV because it's not hard wired in that location. The whole thing just uses one plug to hook up to electricity to operate a calculator and the security lights. My water is just a hose hookup.

"They said that wasn't good enough. Valley Electric was forced to turn off my power."

Borasky said many positive code changes have been made since he became a commissioner. "We realize Pahrump has outgrown the original codes and they need to be reviewed and, in some cases, revised. But there is nothing I can do without breaking the laws I have sworn to uphold. I will even ask for a special commissioners' meeting if I have to, but all I can do is what is legal. I agreed to take this position on and I am serious."

"All I want to do is to keep working until this thing gets solved," said Dougherty. "Everybody agrees it is going to be solved. They told me not to do anything for a couple of weeks so I did what they asked. But there's been no solution. No one is willing to take responsibility ... Just three words are holding me up, but they aren't doing anything about it.

"My business is closed and I have no income. My employees need work. I went down to the planning department and told them my life is on the line. They can give me a temporary waiver."

After speaking with County Commissioner Gary Hollis this week and meeting with Borasky yesterday morning, Dougherty said he better understands the constraints the commissioners are under.

"The solution should be simple. Let me go back to work until you guys get your problem fixed," said Dougherty. "But I'm seeing now that there's more to it than that. I just hope things get resolved soon."