Docket R25-04: A staff-initiated text amendment to Section 2.48.160.4 (Special Use Authorization Appeals) of the Cochise County Zoning Regulations, to allow the Board of Supervisors to remand a special use authorization Planning Commission decision being appealed if new information or additional evidence is submitted. 

All special use authorization decisions of the Planning Commission are deemed final unless appealed to the Board of Supervisors. The proposed amendment expands the Board’s options when reviewing a special use authorization appeal. Currently, the Board is limited to affirming, reversing, or modifying a decision of the Planning Commission. A remand is a procedural action in which the Board of Supervisors returns a zoning or land-use matter to the Planning and Zoning Commission for further consideration, additional fact-finding, or reconsideration consistent with the Board’s direction. The Commission shall conduct a subsequent hearing, take additional evidence if necessary, and issue a new recommendation for the Board’s review.

Introducing single-cycle remand authority ensures that decisions are based on complete and accurate information. Applicants and/or affected parties benefit from a structured process that allows late-arriving, relevant evidence to be considered without bypassing due process. The single-cycle limitation ensures the remand process cannot be used to delay decisions indefinitely.