Residents press Nye County to slow land-use changes as data center, solar concerns mount

Hundreds of residents used the meeting’s public-comment period to press Nye County officials to slow and separate sweeping proposed changes to the county’s solar and large-energy siting rules, arguing the package removes key protections for water, noise and setbacks.

At the core of the meeting’s debate was a proposed amendment to Title 17 that would change how special-use permits, waivers and development agreements are handled in the Pahrump Regional Planning District and elsewhere. Multiple speakers asked the board to continue the item and present each substantive change separately so the public can evaluate environmental and community impacts.

“Those are not minor edits,” said Stacy Edwards, a Pahrump resident. “Each one has real impact on our community. When the zoning section is deleted with nothing replacing it, who then decides where large-scale solar may or may not be located?”

Commenters across the county cited water use, noise and traffic as specific risks. Dr. Ray Kelly, who said he had dropped off scientific studies at the commission office, warned of “air pollution, light pollution, water depletion, noise pollution, and the drain on our power grid” and urged thorough review of technical studies before permits are issued.

Developers and some town representatives urged flexibility in permitting language to reflect differing local conditions. Celeste Sandoval, assistant planning director, told the board that the proposed changes were meant to resolve conflicts encountered when applicants moved through the existing permitting system and that a special-use permit (SUP) process still provides the county an opportunity to set location-specific safeguards. Commissioners asked staff to redline a revised version incorporating town-specific language from Beatty and to return the item for further review.

After extensive public comment the board voted to continue the ordinance — with direction to staff to incorporate town-specific requests and provide a clear, redlined version for the next meeting. Commissioners and planning staff said the goal of the rewrite was to create a single, uniform permit path while preserving the ability to require town review, community benefit agreements, water and noise studies and tighter notice requirements where appropriate.

Next steps: the commission continued the item to the next monthly meeting and asked planning staff to publish a clean, redlined draft and a plain-English impact statement for public review.