Hearing officer recommends Huachuca City zoning change to bar firearms-related home businesses

Huachuca City’s hearing officer, Dr. Johnson, recommended approval of a proposed text amendment to Section 18.100.210 D(1) of the town zoning code at a public hearing on Feb. 19, 2026 in the council chambers. Dr. Johnson said the change is intended to align the town code with state law and to clarify what home-based business activities are prohibited. "It is my recommendation to approve the amendment as written," he said.

Dr. Johnson read the amendment aloud for the record, saying it would bar "the operation of a home based business involving the sale, mail order, trade, manufacture, display, storage or repair of any sort of explosive or improvised explosive device, and or prohibited weapons, as defined under ARS Section 13-3101." He told the hearing that the public notice and amendment materials had been posted and available for review and that a citizen review period had been open since Feb. 5. No written or phone-in comments were submitted, and no members of the public spoke in the chamber during the hearing. The hearing officer said his recommendation will be forwarded to the Town Council for a final reading and action.

The hearing concluded with Dr. Johnson adjourning the public session. The minutes record that Town Clerk Brandye Thorpe and Chief of Police Wyatt Barry were present in the chamber alongside the hearing officer; Mayor Johann R. Wallace later approved the minutes on Feb. 26, 2026. The amendment cites ARS §13-3101 for the statutory definition of "prohibited weapons."