Cochise County supervisors open review of road add/drop policy, schedule public hearings

Cochise County Board of Supervisors members on Tuesday reviewed a staff proposal to apply formal criteria for adding roads to — or removing roads from — the county maintenance system and agreed to notify affected residents and hold public hearings before the board votes.

Public works staff presented the criteria and an initial list of candidate roads by supervisor district, and recommended that the board not increase the total miles the county maintains without offsetting deletions. "We don't want to add additional miles to what we are already maintaining because of the cost of funds, there is the limited funds," said Jason, a public works staff member who presented the lists and cost estimates.

Why it matters: a decision to add a road to the county maintenance system changes who pays for grading, chip sealing and other maintenance; a decision to drop a road for county maintenance changes how often a road will be serviced and can affect emergency access, school-bus routing and local traffic circulation.

Staff overview and criteria Public works staff said they evaluated roads using the county's add/drop policy (Resolution 19-01) and a set of operational criteria that include: whether a road was constructed prior to 1990, a minimum 50-foot public right-of-way, an 18-foot travelway, and whether the road serves at least 18 addresses. The presentation also showed that the county considers connectivity to existing county-maintained roads and overall traffic circulation when prioritizing candidates for addition or removal.

The staff reports the following summary counts from the initial review: District 1 had five roads that met add criteria totaling about 2.21 miles; District 2 had 16 roads meeting criteria for about 19.57 miles; District 3 had 10 roads meeting criteria for about 2.47 miles. Staff emphasized the board can reallocate the statutory allowance for added miles among districts but said they do not propose increasing the county's net maintained mileage without offsetting drops.

Costs and next steps Staff provided rough order-of-magnitude estimates for bringing dirt roads to chip-seal standard and for ongoing maintenance; those estimates are preliminary and vary widely by road depending on drainage, right-of-way needs and existing pavement condition. Jason described the estimates as "rough numbers" and said engineering work would be needed for any road the board directs staff to pursue further.

Board members asked that residents affected by proposed additions or drops be notified in writing before a public hearing. "We will have the list we're sharing here, and that will go out to the public," a public works presenter said, and staff later confirmed they will mail letters and post the standard public notices before scheduling town-hall–style sessions. The board plans to review public input at a future meeting and vote on any add/drop actions after staff completes more detailed analysis.

What dropping maintenance means Board members and staff clarified that removing a road from the county maintenance program is not the same as legal abandonment of the right-of-way. Dropping maintenance means the county will stop routine maintenance (grading, chip sealing, etc.), but ownership of right-of-way and any subsequent abandonment or transfer is a separate legal process and may require majority landowner action or other steps under state law. Staff also said that where the county does not have perfected right-of-way, dropping maintenance may effectively leave maintenance responsibility with property owners.

Public engagement and timeline Staff said they will prepare and mail notices to owners on roads identified in the draft lists, hold public meetings to collect feedback, and return to the board with refined cost estimates and recommendations. The supervisors noted the county's next regular meeting is Sept. 2 and that a jail site tour is scheduled the following day; staff said they will schedule hearing dates after coordinating calendars. No formal additions or deletions were approved at the Aug. 19 work session.

Speakers quoted or referenced were identified in the meeting transcript and are listed below.