Carl's Jr. took out a permit for a plan review with Pahrump Building and Safety for a fast food restaurant on Highway 160 and Yellowhand Court.

That would be between the Walmart store and the Wells Fargo Bank on Wilson Road. The permit suggests a 3,480-square-foot building at 480 S. Highway 160.

It will be the 39th Carl's Jr. restaurant in Nevada. There are 10 in Las Vegas alone. There are 1,185 Carl's Jr. restaurants worldwide and 300 Carl's Jr./Green Burrito restaurants, the company reports on its Web site.

The Pahrump Regional Planning Commission last July granted a waiver from a parking requirement, allowing fast food restaurants to provide 57 parking spaces, or one space for every 100 square feet of gross floor area, instead of one for every 30 square feet, or 191 spaces.

The case was used as an example of how strict parking requirements in Nye County code needed to be altered.

Dave Richards, a consultant for CivilWise Services, said he's working with the Nevada Department of Transportation for ingress and egress requirements for a second fast food restaurant to be located next to Carl's Jr. There are also discussions under way with Utilities Inc., he said.

The names of other restaurant chains have been floated around as possibly building in Pahrump, but the issuance of a building permit means a company has obtained all the required approvals and is ready to proceed. Construction needs to begin within six months of obtaining a building permit or the fees may be forfeited.

In August 2006, Turnkey Development suggested an El Pollo Loco restaurant would be a good fit at the corner of Wilson Road and East Street for the Holiday Inn Express/Buffalo Wild Wings that was supposed to be built to the south of the Wells Fargo Bank.

But neither project materialized.

"The process is taking too long. These fast food chains don't have that much patience," Richards said.

Final approval is pending on approval for site development plans from the Nye County Public Works Department for the Carl's Jr. restaurant, he said.