Commission recommends rezoning Moonbeam Drive parcel after removing enforcement condition on historic trailer

The Cochise County Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve a rezoning (RZ25-16) for a 5-acre parcel on Moonbeam Drive from RU2 to RU4, after modifying staff’s proposed condition that would have required removal of an on-site recreational vehicle.

Staff said the parcel (APN 40402303) is currently RU2 but that the county’s owner-builder opt-out program and surrounding zoning patterns make RU4 a compatible designation. Staff noted the applicant did not submit a concept plan and that there is an active code-compliance case related to a recreational vehicle on the property; staff initially recommended a special condition requiring removal of the RV.

Applicant Britney Meist described plans for an off-grid, earthbag dome home and said the existing vintage trailer — which she described as a historic ‘blue whale’ — is not currently connected to utilities and could be removed if required. Meist said she has remedied other cited violations and would remove the trailer if necessary for rezoning.

Commissioners questioned whether enforcement should be a condition of the rezoning. Commissioner Watkins moved to strip the staff-recommended removal condition so that the code-compliance process proceeds separately; the motion passed on a voice vote. The commission then restated the motion to recommend rezoning APN 40402303 to RU4 without the trailer-removal condition and approved it unanimously.

Staff emphasized that code compliance remains an issue outside the rezoning decision and may proceed to the zoning hearing officer if unresolved. The commission’s action forwards a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors; any code enforcement or permits required to construct the applicant’s planned structures would be handled through separate processes.