R-12-02: Amendments to the Zoning Regulations

1. R-12-02: Amendments to the Zoning Regulations Proposed Definitions and Regulation Changes Pertaining to Agricultural Activities in Cochise County August 14, 2012

2. Purpose • Acknowledge agriculture as an important component of the County’s culture and economy. • Regulatory relief for agricultural activities that are incidental or complementary on same parcel, such as vineyards and associated wineries/tasting room; promote value-added processing.

3. Current Definitions Article 2 of the Cochise County Zoning Regulations defines agricultural activities as follows: Agriculture, General Agricultural Processing Services Feedlot, Commercial Meat Cutting and Butchering

4. Proposed Definitions Existing Definitions: Clarify, redefine, and add language to comply with State Law to existing definitions (Agriculture, General, Ag-processing, Meat-cutting and Butchering). New Definitions: Defineuses already permitted in the Regulations (Commercial feedlots, Slaughterhouses/Meat packing plants); and Proposenew uses(On-site Agricultural Processing Services, Wineries).

5. Proposed Definitions Agriculture, General: added language pertaining to dairy operations, per statute. Agricultural Processing Services: Added language defining what this is NOT. Meat Cutting and Butchering: replaced this definition with Custom Butchering/Meat Curing/ Processing.

6. Proposed Definitions Custom Butchering/Meat Curing/ Processing: Added ‘on-site butchering’ and followed the Arizona Department of Agricultural definition for a slaughter license. Feedlot, Commercial: Added regulations as defined by ADEQ, CAFO. Removed ‘feeding pens’ – added it to Agriculture, General.

7. Proposed Definitions Onsite Agricultural Processing Services: This language was added to ease the permitting requirements for growing and processing on same parcel. Off-site Winery Tasting Rooms: Added to Restaurants, Bars, Taverns, Nightclubs… Slaughterhouse/Meat Packing Plant: Added the definition as it is already in the permitting sections of the Regulations.

8. Proposed Definitions Winery, Farm/Production/Tasting Room: Added to acknowledge growing industry. Winery, Farm: Based on quantity limits under Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses (ADLL), Series 13 allows grapes grown and processed on site to be sold as retail on site. Winery, Production: Again, based on ADLL, Series 1. An additional permit is required by ADLL for retail sales, including tasting rooms.

9. Regulating Uses Setbacks and/or Special Use Permit Process? Setback limitations restrict the location of permitted uses to larger parcels which minimize off-site impacts such as odors, noise, dust, vectors, traffic, lighting. Currently, the Zoning Regulations use the special use permit process AND various setback limits. Staff is proposing a SIMPLIFIED regulation consisting of permitted uses IF proposed setback limits can be met.

10. Matrix

11. SETBACKS This graphic depicts one Section of land (620 acres) 40 acres 20 acres 160 acres Line Legend: Red = 300’ setback Green = 100’ setback Blue dotted -= 40’ setback 80 acres * 20 acres with 300’ setback = .80 acre of buildable land * 20 acres with 100’ setback = 11.8 acres of buildable land * 40 acres with 300’ setback = 11.89 acres of buildable land * 40 acres with 100’ setback = 28.8 acres of buildable land 320 acres

12. Recommendation July 11, 2012 Planning and Zoning Commission forwarded this docket with a unanimous motion recommending approval (8-0). Staff recommends approval of these Zoning Regulation Amendments.