Pahrump, Zoning & Appraisals

It is my opinion that there are some Pahrump real property owners who wish the 2004 implementation of the zoning ordinance didn’t happen.  Some property owners in Pahrump wanted to see the town move into the future with rules and regulations, like those in place in larger cities, while others liked the Wild West, and the unregulated nature of the Town before 2004.  So Pahrump ended up with zoning with lots of exceptions in outlying areas for existing commercial, industrial and mixed uses.  Many other properties that were not zoned for their existing uses in the ordinance but they were allowed to continue in their non-conforming uses.

There are many residents in Pahrump who are just starting to realize that after almost 15 years they can’t continue to run their businesses out of the same buildings that were old in 2004, and the buildings are really old in 2019.  It’s dawning on those owners that their residential zoning may actually negatively impact their property value.  Even if they have had a continuous use, like an ongoing commercial office, and even if the use has been “grandfathered” they don’t have hard zoned they may have upgrade problems.

Nye County records include a “Use Code” like “100” for vacant land and “400” for commercial.  It’s important to understand however that the code is reported by the Assessor but the code doesn’t imply that the use that they indicated is on the property is approved.  If there was a commercial use of a property in 2004 that was not hard zoned and that use ended in 2006 and then started again in 2008 by a new owner it is likely that Nye County will “grandfather” it.  The non-conforming use must be continuous for it to be “grandfathered.”

You can always sell your property and lie about its zoning that’s not however a good idea and you may get you sued when the buyer figures out that they didn’t get what they thought they thought that they paid for.  Misrepresentation of fact like zoning is a tough road to go down and I don’t know who thinks that they can get away with not being forthright but people still try.

Owners, agents and appraisers know, or should know, that zoning information on any Nye County real property is available through the Assessor’s office and also via the Nye County Planning office.  Zoning maps and land use plan maps are available and a Nye County Planner is just a call away.  So it’s not easy to lie about zoning or planning, if someone wants to know what exists or affects a real property all they have to do is make that phone call, consult a map and / or employ an appraiser to check out the records.

In other Nevada Counties, like Clark County, zoning has been extremely important and it has controlled development for many years.  Pahrump is a town with a relatively new zoning ordinance, and even though it has been in place for almost 15 years its citizens are just beginning to feel its control.  As time passes there will be fewer and fewer of those outlying, non-conforming commercial and industrial uses that exist today.

For more appraisal information contact Glenn J. Rigdon MA, MRICS, IFAS, ASA is a Las Vegas / Henderson Nevada based appraiser who can be contacted via email or via his business website known as Appraiser Las Vegas  (http://www.appraiserlasvegas.com), or http://www.horizonvillageappraisal.com, or you can also click on “Contact Us” on the home page of this website or visit my public profile at LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/pub/glenn-rigdon-ma-mrics-asa/1a/30b/879/

Article source: http://www.appraisalarticles.com/General-Appraisal-Articles/4725-Pahrump-Zoning-and-Appraisals.html