Planning and Zoning commission denies Hereford Road RV park, approves billboards and several land-use items; charitable residential program cleared with limits

The Cochise County Planning and Zoning Commission on Sept. 10 denied a proposed 30-space recreational vehicle park near the San Pedro River but approved two billboard special-use requests and advanced several rezoning and residential requests to the Board of Supervisors.

The commission voted 6-2 to deny a special-use request for a 30-space RV park on Hereford Road (docket SU25-14). The project, proposed by applicants Benny and Janelle Schmidt, would have located 30 RV spaces on roughly 38 acres inside the Southern San Pedro Valley area plan and within the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area boundary.

Commissioners who voted to deny cited safety, traffic and environmental concerns raised in public comment; two commissioners supported the proposal. Staff had recommended approval subject to conditions including a 30-space cap, county right-of-way and clearing permits, quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., a requirement to keep the park sanitary, perimeter open-space retention with native-plant supplementation, and use of crushed gravel to reduce dust.

The park drew substantial public opposition: staff reported roughly 40–45 people submitted about 71 pages of written comments, and several speakers cited potential harm to wildlife habitat, groundwater and cultural resources. Speakers also raised traffic safety at the property’s Hereford Road access and concerns about septic, wastewater and generator noise. Commissioners repeatedly noted the volume and local provenance of the opposition in explaining their votes.

In other business the commission approved two separate special-use dockets for billboards proposed by Summit Locations LLC. Docket SU25-16 (Allen Lane/Highway 90) and SU25-17 (Pine Street/Highway 90) each propose single monopole billboards with two 10-by-30-foot faces (four 300-square-foot panels, 1,200 total square feet). In…