Road and utility requirements waived for $25,000

MARK TWAIN - Rather than requiring the owners of a Mark Twain lot to spend $117,000 to pave the street in front of their home so they could divide their property, county officials agreed to accept $25,000 to waive the improvement standards.

Lyon County commissioners will set aside county standards requiring paved roads and underground utilities for subsequent divisions of parcel maps on a four-acre parcel fronting Mark Twain Avenue and Stacey Court east of Dayton.

Commissioner Bob Milz said the situation is difficult, but meeting the paving requirements for the non-maintained county road would be cost prohibitive to the owners.

"This is a bad situation no matter how you look at it. It would be cost prohibitive to pave in front of the property," Milz said. "We could take the $25,000 and get the whole road and three cul-de-sacs chip sealed."

It is estimated it would cost the owners $117,000 to meet the paving requirements.

The 4.36 acre parcel is zoned for one home per two acres and is currently occupied by two mobile homes.

Owners Frank and Donna Torres want to divide the property so they can sell their home without displacing the adjacent homeowners.

Lyon County codes require with second and subsequent divisions of parcel maps that all roads fronting the property, plus an additional 660 feet in each direction be constructed to a paved road standard.

County codes also require underground utilities for parcels zoned RR-2. The site has existing overhead utilities serving both homes.

In asking for relief from county standards, the Torres' pointed out the property is located nearly a half-mile from the nearest paving and such piecemeal paving could cause future maintenance problems for the county.

Their appeal noted that mandating paved road improvements to this portion of Mark Twain shifts the financial burden of improving roads from the county to the applicant.

Assistant District Attorney Steve Rye cautioned commissioners that granting the waiver and agreeing to chip-seal the road could give the impression the county is going into competition with private developers. He also noted the road was not on the county's maintained mileage list.

Commissioner David Fulstone said, "This has to be limited to very special circumstances when we do this."

In approving the waivers, commissioners made no commitment to maintain or chip-seal Mark Twain Avenue.