# Lyon County Improvement Surety, Right-of-Way Bonds and Industrial Projects URL: https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/nevada/metros/reno/lyon-county Updated: 2026-10-29 · Reviewed by the Principal, Gleason Insurance Brokers, LLC Publisher: My Contractors Insurance Quote, a website of Gleason Insurance Brokers, LLC In unincorporated Lyon County, Nevada, the County's April 2026 application checklist calls for an improvements surety approved by the District Attorney, or a cash deposit, covering 150 percent of the engineer's estimated value of the work. Work in the County right-of-way needs a permit, and the Road Division's undated form asks for a refundable cash bond of the engineer's estimate or contractor's bid plus 10 percent and, for road cuts, general liability of at least $500,000/$1,000,000. Fernley and Yerington are incorporated cities that set their own rules, so the County terms apply outside their limits. ## Key Decision Points - Improvement surety or a cash deposit covers 150 percent of the engineer's estimate and is approved before work starts. - The surety must be approved by the District Attorney, and the County Engineer signs off before construction. - Right-of-way work carries a refundable cash bond of the estimate or bid plus 10 percent on the Road Division form. - Road cuts call for general liability of at least $500,000/$1,000,000 on that undated form. - A 10 percent one-year maintenance bond appears in a 2019 draft ordinance and a 2023 board action, so confirm the adopted code. ## Unincorporated Lyon County and the Cities Inside It Lyon County plans and permits the unincorporated areas: communities such as Dayton, Silver Springs, Stagecoach and Mason Valley, along with the Northern Nevada Industrial Center. The County's 2020 master plan chapter on communities, adopted December 16, 2021, notes that Fernley and Yerington are incorporated cities that provide for their own community plans. The County's own page on Fernley says the City handles business licenses, building codes, zoning and utilities within its limits. For a developer or contractor, that split decides which bond form, which right-of-way permit and which insurance terms apply. A project in Fernley follows the City's requirements rather than the County's, and this page does not cover them. The Lyon County code library was not accessible when this page was prepared, so the figures below come from the County's posted forms, agendas and minutes, each dated where the document shows a date. The Reno-area right-of-way, dust and water rules to the west are explained under [Reno-area construction bond and insurance rules](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/nevada/metros/reno). ## Improvement Surety at 150 Percent of the Estimate Lyon County Community Development's application checklist descriptions, revised April 13, 2026, require an improvements surety approved by the District Attorney or a cash deposit to cover 150 percent of the engineer's estimated value of the work. The surety is submitted with the application and approved by the County Engineer before work begins. The checklist also asks for a cost estimate stamped by a Nevada professional engineer, or the executed contractor contract showing the contractor's license number and limit. Two other checklist items shape the estimate behind the bond. A traffic impact study is required at 500 or more average daily trips or 80 peak-hour trips, and drainage must follow the County's Storm Drainage Guidelines dated September 20, 2024. Off-site road and drainage work that comes out of those studies adds to the engineer's estimate, and at 150 percent every added dollar of work adds a dollar and a half of security. District Attorney approval means the bond form itself is looked at, not only the amount. A surety should see the County's form early, because nonstandard wording can slow approval and push back the start of work. How Nevada counties and cities set and release improvement security is covered under [Nevada subdivision improvement bonds](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/construction-surety-bonds/subdivision-improvement-bonds/nevada). ### Illustrative scenario: A Dayton Subdivision Phase with Off-Site Road Work Carson Flat Homes, a fictional builder, plans a phase in Dayton with an engineer's estimate of $2,000,000 for streets, drainage and utilities. The County checklist calls for an improvements surety or cash deposit of $3,000,000, approved by the District Attorney and accepted by the County Engineer before work begins. The builder's surety receives the County's bond form with the stamped estimate, so any wording questions are settled before the start date. Its paving contractor needs a right-of-way permit for a connection to a County road with a $180,000 bid, so the Road Division form calls for a $198,000 refundable cash bond and general liability of at least $500,000/$1,000,000, and the contractor plans for the cash to stay held until the soils results clear. The builder also asks the County whether a 10 percent maintenance bond will follow completion, as in the 2023 board action. The company, figures and details are hypothetical, and a real program depends on the agency, the surety or carriers and the firm's own risk. ## The 10 Percent Maintenance Bond in County Documents A draft ordinance amending Title 15, marked "Revised 09/05/2019" with a blank bill and ordinance number, describes the practice: improvement surety at 150 percent, reducible for completed major components, held one year after the certificate of completion and then replaced by a maintenance bond of 10 percent of the construction estimate, held one more year and released by the Board. The same draft ties final maps to 150 percent surety plus an executed improvement agreement or a certificate of completion. A March 2, 2023, Board of County Commissioners agenda shows that practice in use. For Traditions Village 1 roadway work, the item released the improvement bond and replaced it with a 10 percent maintenance and warranty bond for the finished portion of the backbone roadway network, and accepted a reduced improvement bond, paid as a cashier's check, for the unfinished part. Whether the 2019 draft was adopted as written could not be confirmed. Developers should treat the 10 percent, one-year maintenance bond as practice shown in those two documents and confirm the adopted code with the County before budgeting the warranty period. How sureties write the year after acceptance is explained under [maintenance and warranty bonds](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/construction-surety-bonds/maintenance-warranty-bonds). ## Right-of-Way Permits, the Cash Bond and Road-Cut Insurance Lyon County's encroachment permit page says a permit is required for any person, contractor or public utility performing any type of work in the County right-of-way. The Road Division's right-of-way use permit application is undated, and its references suggest an older form, so confirm it is current before relying on it. For road cuts and excavations, that form asks for comprehensive general liability insurance with limits of at least $500,000/$1,000,000 and a refundable cash bond equal to the engineer's estimate or a licensed contractor's bid, plus 10 percent. It also asks for state and county licenses, inspections by a licensed engineer at the contractor's expense and soils lab testing results before the Road Division's inspection and release of the bond. Because the bond is cash, not surety, it ties up working capital for the life of the permit and until the soils results clear. A utility or paving contractor with several open cuts can have a meaningful amount held at once, which is worth planning in the bid. - Cash bond: engineer's estimate or licensed contractor's bid, plus 10 percent - General liability: at least $500,000/$1,000,000 for road cuts and excavations - Release: after soils lab results and Road Division inspection - Form date: undated, so confirm the current version Right-of-way bonds and deposits across Nevada agencies are compared under [Nevada encroachment permit bonds](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/construction-surety-bonds/encroachment-permit-bonds/nevada). ## NNIC, Silver Springs and the Data Center Pipeline The master plan describes the Northern Nevada Industrial Center, rezoned in 2020, as about 12,000 acres with about 6,000 developable, and projects over 23 million square feet of industrial space at full buildout on a 20- to 30-year schedule. Silver Springs and Stagecoach sit about a half-hour commute from USA Parkway in Storey County, and the plan notes that a large playa south of the highway at Stagecoach is subject to frequent flooding. On April 8, 2025, the Planning Commission voted 7-0 to recommend a development agreement with TRACT Capital Management for the Silver Springs Technology Park, covering data centers, high-voltage lines, substations and utility and road improvements on about 460 acres within about 1,070 acres zoned Service Industrial. The agreement takes effect at the closing of the land sale, has no automatic extensions and calls for status updates every two years. In June 2025 the Board began forming the North Lyon County Power District, a general improvement district intended to supply interim microgrid power until the area ties into NV Energy; adoption of the agreement by ordinance was on that agenda, and the final vote is not confirmed here. The County's development applications page lists 16 items under review, including the Monarch Data Center tentative planned unit development in Mason Valley, an NNIC planned unit development amendment and development agreement revision set for the Board on December 17, 2026, a Greenlink Nevada transmission application and the Legacy 49 tentative map in Dayton. Data center and substation work at that scale typically brings owner-set bonding, builders risk with high values at risk and pollution and utility exposures that can vary by carrier guidelines and programs. Values, delay and testing exposures on these builds are covered under [builders risk for industrial and data center projects](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/builders-risk-insurance/industrial-and-data-center-projects). ## Putting a Lyon County Program Together A typical unincorporated Lyon County program pairs District Attorney-approved surety at 150 percent with a plan for the warranty period, a cash bond and road-cut liability limits for each right-of-way permit and owner contract terms on industrial work. Firms working on both sides of the county line should not carry one county's terms into the other: Storey County has its own security forms, performance bond limit and the TRI Center agreement to consider. Next door, the security forms and TRI Center terms are explained under [Storey County improvement security and TRI Center bonds](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/nevada/metros/reno/storey-county). ## Before You Ask for a Quote ### What to Gather - Engineer's estimate stamped by a Nevada professional engineer, or the executed contractor contract - Improvements surety on the County's form, or cash deposit terms, at 150 percent - Traffic impact study where trips reach the County's thresholds - Drainage report under the September 20, 2024, Storm Drainage Guidelines - Right-of-way use permit application with the cash bond and general liability certificate - State and county contractor licenses ### What to Ask the Insurer or Surety - Is the property in unincorporated Lyon County, Fernley or Yerington? - Will the District Attorney accept the surety's bond form as written? - Does the adopted code require a 10 percent maintenance bond, and for how long? - Is the Road Division's right-of-way form still current, and are the liability limits the same? - How long will the right-of-way cash bond be held after the soils results? - What bonds and builders risk terms will an industrial or data center owner set by contract? ## Broker Notes **Quick Answer:** Unincorporated Lyon County requires an improvements surety approved by the District Attorney, or a cash deposit, covering 150 percent of the engineer's estimate. Right-of-way road cuts call for a cash bond of the estimate or bid plus 10 percent and general liability of at least $500,000/$1,000,000. **Common Mistake:** Applying Lyon County terms to a Fernley project, or budgeting a 10 percent maintenance bond as settled code when it appears in a 2019 draft ordinance and a 2023 board action. **Broker Perspective:** A broker confirms the jurisdiction first, gets the County's bond form to the surety early for District Attorney approval and plans for right-of-way cash bonds held until soils results clear. **Coverage Impact:** The improvement surety protects the County, and the developer owes the surety indemnity if it pays. Road-cut liability limits are a County minimum, and actual limits typically depend on the contract and can vary by carrier guidelines and programs. ## Questions Buyers Ask ### How much improvement surety does unincorporated Lyon County require? The County's application checklist, revised April 13, 2026, calls for an improvements surety approved by the District Attorney or a cash deposit to cover 150 percent of the engineer's estimated value of the work, approved by the County Engineer before work begins. ### Does Lyon County require a maintenance bond after improvements are accepted? A 2019 draft ordinance describes a 10 percent maintenance bond held one year, and a March 2023 board agenda shows one used for Traditions Village 1 roadway work. Whether the draft was adopted as written is not confirmed, so check the adopted code with the County. ### What bond and insurance does a Lyon County right-of-way permit need? For road cuts and excavations, the Road Division's undated form asks for a refundable cash bond of the engineer's estimate or contractor's bid plus 10 percent and general liability of at least $500,000/$1,000,000, along with state and county licenses. ### Do Lyon County rules apply in Fernley? No. Fernley and Yerington are incorporated cities, and the County says the City of Fernley handles business licenses, building codes, zoning and utilities within its limits. Confirm Fernley's bond and permit terms with the City. ### What industrial and data center projects are planned in Lyon County? The master plan projects over 23 million square feet at the Northern Nevada Industrial Center over 20 to 30 years. The County's review list includes the Monarch Data Center in Mason Valley and NNIC amendments, and a 2025 development agreement covers data centers in the Silver Springs Technology Park. ## Official Sources 1. [Development Application, including Application Checklist Descriptions (revised April 13, 2026)](https://www.lyon-county.org/DocumentCenter/View/14448), Lyon County Community Development. Improvements surety approved by the District Attorney or cash deposit covering 150 percent of the engineer's estimate, approved by the County Engineer before work begins; stamped Nevada PE estimate or executed contractor contract; traffic impact study at 500 average daily trips or 80 peak-hour trips; Storm Drainage Guidelines dated September 20, 2024. Verified 2026-10-28. 2. [Title 15 Land Use and Development Code Amendments (draft, revised 09/05/2019)](https://www.lyon-county.org/DocumentCenter/View/8995/Title-15-Land-Use-and-Development-Code-Amendments), Lyon County. Draft text: 150 percent surety reducible for completed components, held one year after the certificate of completion, then a 10 percent maintenance bond held one more year and released by the Board; final maps need 150 percent surety plus an improvement agreement or certificate of completion. Adoption not confirmed. Verified 2026-10-26. 3. [Board of County Commissioners Agenda, March 2, 2023 (item 15.b)](https://lyon-county.org/DocumentCenter/View/11847/BOCC-03022023-Agenda), Lyon County Board of County Commissioners. Release of the Traditions Village 1 improvement bond, replacement with a 10 percent maintenance and warranty bond for the finished roadway and a reduced improvement bond by cashier's check for the unfinished portion. Verified 2026-10-26. 4. [Encroachment Permit and Right-of-Way Use Permit Application (undated)](https://www.lyon-county.org/DocumentView.asp?DID=173), Lyon County Road Division. Permit required for any person, contractor or public utility working in the County right-of-way; general liability of at least $500,000/$1,000,000 for road cuts; refundable cash bond of the engineer's estimate or contractor's bid plus 10 percent; state and county licenses; inspection by a licensed engineer at the contractor's expense; soils lab results before release of the bond. Verified 2026-10-26. 5. [2020 Lyon County Master Plan, Chapter 2: Communities (adopted December 16, 2021)](https://www.lyon-county.org/DocumentCenter/View/11211/Chapter-2--Communities-2022-Final-1), Lyon County. Fernley and Yerington incorporated with their own plans; NNIC rezoned 2020, about 12,000 acres and 6,000 developable, over 23 million square feet over 20 to 30 years; Silver Springs and Stagecoach about a half-hour from USA Parkway; Stagecoach playa subject to frequent flooding. Verified 2026-10-26. 6. [City of Fernley](https://www.lyon-county.org/805/City-of-Fernley), Lyon County. The City of Fernley is responsible for business licenses, building codes, zoning and utilities within City limits. Verified 2026-10-26. 7. [Planning Commission Minutes, April 8, 2025](https://www.lyon-county.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_04082025-1801), Lyon County Planning Commission. TRACT Capital Management development agreement for data centers, high-voltage lines, substations and utility and road improvements on about 460 acres within about 1,070 acres zoned Service Industrial; effective at land sale closing; no automatic extensions; status updates every two years; 7-0 recommendation. Verified 2026-10-26. 8. [June 5, 2025, Board of County Commissioners Meeting Summary](https://www.lyon-county.org/m/newsflash/Archive/Item/369?arcId=410), Lyon County. Board began forming the North Lyon County Power District GID for interim microgrid capacity until NV Energy service; adoption of the TRACT agreement by ordinance on the agenda. Verified 2026-10-26. 9. [Development Applications Under Review](https://www.lyon-county.org/1119/Development-Applications-Under-Review), Lyon County. 16 applications under review, including the Monarch Data Center tentative PUD in Mason Valley, NNIC PUD amendment and development agreement revision for the Board on December 17, 2026, Greenlink Nevada transmission and the Legacy 49 tentative map in Dayton. Verified 2026-10-26. ## Related Decisions - [Storey County improvement security rules](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/nevada/metros/reno/storey-county) - [Sparks final map surety and inspection fees](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/nevada/metros/reno/sparks) - [Nevada civil and utility contractor insurance](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/nevada/audiences/civil-infrastructure-contractors) - [paving contractor insurance](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/who-we-serve/civil-underground-utilities/paving-contractors) - [data center construction risk checklist](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/resources/data-center-construction-risk-checklist) --- Start a quote request: https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/get-a-quote · Call 844-978-7283 Contract and insurance reviews are a courtesy service that may be available at times, depending on our workload and on the size, timing and complexity of the project. A review is not guaranteed and is limited to insurance considerations. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice from your own legal counsel, which you may need before signing a contract or obtaining coverage. Insurance and surety services are provided through Gleason Insurance Brokers, LLC. Site information is educational and does not constitute legal advice, a binder, an offer of coverage, a guarantee of eligibility or confirmation of policy terms. Insurance conditions are governed by actual issued policies; surety rights and obligations are governed by bond and indemnity documents.