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Property owners renew plea for zone changes on 'zombie lots' lacking promised utilities
Summary
Multiple residents urged Nye County commissioners to use local zoning authority to reclassify thousands of small lots sold as developed but lacking roads and utilities. Speakers asked the board to consider rezoning to reflect the reality on the ground and to relieve unfair taxation of valueless parcels.
Several property owners urged the Nye County Board of Commissioners to act on long‑running problems with so-called “zombie lots” in Pahrump — small parcels sold decades ago as part of large developments but without the roads, water or sewer infrastructure buyers expected.
Lorraine Gilbert said her Calabatta Meadows lot and thousands of others were signed off as completed by developers despite no utilities at the property line. “If the infrastructure requirements that define BR zoning do not exist on these properties, then the zoning designation itself is inaccurate and misleading,” Gilbert told commissioners during public comment.
Other callers echoed the plea. Patricia Robb told the board the problem is systemic and urged the commissioners to use Nye County Code 17.04.950 to initiate a county‑led zoning amendment rather than leave owners to pursue individual appeals. “No one's asking for tax waivers,” Robb said. “We're asking for fairness.”
Commissioners acknowledged the complexity. Commissioner Strickland, who said he has lived in the county 27 years, described the original developer Preferred Equities as having used deceptive practices and said the lot sizes make alternative solutions — cisterns or composting toilets — difficult on individual parcels. Commissioners encouraged affected owners to organize so county staff and planning can identify feasible short‑ and long‑term remedies, including whether combining adjacent lots or other measures could bring parcels into compliance with infrastructure ordinances.
Why this matters: commenters said thousands — they used estimates in the thousands — of parcels remain effectively unusable but are still assessed for property taxes. Owners argued the continued taxation is unfair and asked the county to act under its zoning authority.
Board direction: Commissioners did not adopt a formal action at the meeting but several said they would engage with staff and suggested forming a stakeholder group to analyze feasible solutions, potential zone changes, and the legal and fiscal consequences.
