Pahrump commission approves 204-space RV park, sets extended utility and reporting schedule

The Pahrump Regional Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit April 9 for a 204-space recreational vehicle park on 17 acres of a 55-acre parcel at 600 South Leslie Street, with the applicant required to follow extended study and reporting deadlines for utilities and site development.

The commission voted to approve CU 24-407, the application from Double M Construction Inc for property owned by American Eagle RV Resort, subject to the standard and special conditions in the staff report and added direction to allow longer timelines and six‑month status updates on utility and permitting milestones.

Staff told the commission the permit would allow on-site water, wastewater infrastructure and on-site drainage and fire-suppression measures but that approvals would require compliance with Nye County, state and federal regulations and further technical review. The staff report recommended approval pending the standard conditions in the packet.

Commissioners and the applicant focused much of the discussion on the timeline needed to complete a well vulnerability study and to secure utility commitments. The applicant and a consultant said the well vulnerability work and associated percolation, dye and other tests take roughly 12 months to complete; compiling the information and pursuing National Environmental Protection Division (NDEP) review and the utility’s conditional-commitment process could take significantly longer. The applicant reported that extending sewer and water from existing infrastructure would require nearly 11,091 feet of sewer main extension and a similar distance for water and that evaluating rule-9 cost‑offsets could add several months.

The applicant representative said the combined study, permitting and utility coordination timeline was roughly 21 months under one scenario and recommended a more conservative schedule; commissioners and staff agreed to lengthen the deadlines. Staff indicated it was agreeable to extending the administrative deadlines and to require six‑month progress reports so the commission could track forward progress rather than repeatedly processing extensions.

On project funding and phasing, the applicant said the Phase 1 RV park is cash-funded. "The project is funded. It's a cash funded project," the applicant said. Commissioners asked that the applicant provide updates on designs for fire-flow, water and sewer as those technical findings become available.

A member of the public who lives within the study radius, Carl Jacob, urged commissioners to ensure the well and sewer studies address local impacts. "I was concerned about the water usage and the water rights," Jacob said. He asked that results be shared with residents in the vulnerable-radius area.

The commission’s approval included special conditions reflecting the longer schedule: administrative deadlines for submitting a Category 1 site development plan and for beginning construction were extended, and the applicant must provide status reports every six months showing progress on the well vulnerability study, percolation testing, NDEP submittal and any negotiations with Great Basin Water Company regarding an extension or conditional commitment to serve.

No appeals were filed during the meeting; the action is final unless an appeal is lodged with the Board of County Commissioners in the period allowed by county rules.

The commission’s packet identifies the site as zoned neighborhood commercial and general commercial, with the conditional use required because the proposed RV park is a use permitted with an approved CUP. Staff concluded there was sufficient justification to recommend approval subject to the listed conditions and the amended schedule and reporting requirement.

Looking ahead, the commission will expect six‑month updates from the applicant and staff will track submittals to NDEP and the water company. If the vulnerability study or utility commitments change the project scope or the feasibility, the commission could require additional review or conditions during site development.

Details recorded in the staff report and discussed at the meeting — including the 204‑space design, 17‑acre development footprint, an estimated 11,091‑foot utility extension distance, the 12‑month well vulnerability testing window and the applicant’s statement that phase 1 is cash-funded — are reflected in the conditions attached to the APR 9 approval.