Cochise County supervisors recommend four tracts for Opportunity Zone 2.0, vote 2-0

The Cochise County Board of Supervisors voted 2-0 on Tuesday, June 4 to recommend four census tracts to the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) as candidates for Opportunity Zone 2.0. The board amended a pending motion to specify a ranked list of tracts and directed staff to submit the nominations to the ACA portal by mid-June.

Mr. Casey, the staff presenter, told the board that a key data issue for the nominations is ACA and Treasury guidance relying on median family income rather than median household income, which can change eligibility and rankings for tracts. “They use the median family income, not the median household income for this,” Casey said, explaining that family-based metrics exclude single-person households and certain roommate arrangements and therefore shift thresholds used in the application process.

Why it matters: the selected tracts carry potential tax incentives intended to attract investment in lower-income areas. Supervisors emphasized factors investors consider — developable private land, pre-zoned commercial parcels, proximity to transportation and Fort Huachuca-related growth — and weighed those against constraints such as state trust and BLM holdings, floodplain exposure and infrastructure needs.

The board settled on a staff-amended ranked list to be submitted to the ACA: tract 600 as first choice; tract 1602 as second; tract 800 as third; and tract 1502 as fourth. A supervisor offered and restated the amendment and it was seconded; the amendment passed and the overall motion as amended was approved in the meeting. The vote was recorded as two in favor, zero opposed; one supervisor (Mr. Crosby) was absent.

Board members and staff discussed the next steps after approval: staff will prepare the justifications in the ACA’s required format, include cross‑border population and port traffic data for the Douglas tracts on request, and post a concise investor-focused statement after submission. The board noted the state-level timeline: nominations are due to the governor by July 1 under the state process, and the county plans to submit to ACA by the portal deadline in mid‑June.

The board also discussed local tools to spur development — including possible tax-increment financing (TIF) or redevelopment districts — and the role of local matching grants and New Markets Tax Credit eligibility in making some tracts more attractive to investors. Supervisors repeatedly emphasized that the decision balances community redevelopment goals with the pragmatic need to present strong investment justifications to ACA reviewers.

What was decided: staff was directed to submit the four ranked tracts to the Arizona Commerce Authority in the order adopted, to prepare supporting documentation in ACA’s format, and to coordinate a public investor-facing notice once the submission is complete. No binding investment commitments or development approvals were made at the meeting; the action was limited to recommending tracts to ACA for consideration under the Opportunity Zone 2.0 nomination process.

The board’s action is procedural: it forwards the county’s ranked nominations; final acceptance is decided through the ACA/state/governor review process.