Yuma County supervisors deny plan to strip Highway 95 scenic-corridor protections, direct staff to redraw boundary

The Yuma County Board of Supervisors on April 7 voted to deny minor amendment case 24-06, a proposal that would have removed U.S. Highway 95 from the county's 2030 Comprehensive Plan list of designated visual corridors.

Supporters of the corridor designation, including residents, conservation groups and Yuma Proving Ground representatives, urged supervisors to keep at least the northern stretch of Highway 95 protected. The board denied the amendment and directed staff to return with revised language that would preserve scenic protections for areas north of a yet-to-be-finalized cutoff.

The dispute opened during the meeting's call to the public, where multiple emailed comments and in-person speakers framed the issue as a choice between allowing more billboard and commercial signage or protecting the scenic desert approach that visitors see when arriving in Yuma County. Javier Barraza, senior planner, told the board the amendment arose from a discrepancy between the comprehensive plan map and its…