A local businessman spent a year and a half trying to build a new manufacturing plant in a Clark County area planned for economic development, only to bring the project to a halt after compounding regulatory hurdles.

Now he’s left with an empty lot and a pile of planning papers he can’t use.

“The issue is not, ‘Did they follow the rules?’ The problem is the rules suck,” said Jeff Davis, president at Vancouver-based TennMax America. “We own the property. We’ve invested a million dollars. And I think it’s gotten so outrageous that I’m canceling it.”

State and county regulators say they are doing their jobs protecting the environment and promoting safety. But local developers and business owners say the regulations are impeding the state’s other goals of providing jobs and housing for more

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