Cochise County has released a draft of its updated Comprehensive Plan, which serves as the county’s long-term guide for growth, development, and conservation. The plan sets out goals and policies to direct land use, infrastructure planning, resource management, and address community needs.
The current Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2015. Arizona law requires that it be updated every ten years. Residents can review the draft plan on the project website at cp2045.cochise.az.gov. Printed copies are also available at the Development Services Department in Bisbee and at all five county library branches: Elfrida Library, Jimmie Libhart Branch in Bowie, Myrtle Kraft Library in Portal, Sunizona Library, and Sierra Vista Library.
Community members are encouraged to provide feedback on various aspects of the plan including its direction, specific goals and policies, map accuracy, community impacts, necessary corrections, or local insights. When submitting comments, officials request that individuals reference chapters or pages when possible and explain their reasoning clearly.
Comments can be submitted by email to developmentservices@cochise.az.gov with “CP2045 comments” in the subject line. They may also be mailed to Cochise County Development Services at 1415 Melody Lane in Bisbee or submitted through the project website. The deadline for public input is January 25, 2026.
Christine McLachlan is listed as the contact person for mailed comments.
The county continues to face educational challenges. In recent school years, most students struggled with standardized tests: about 70% of students in grades 3 through 8 did not pass the mathematics section of the AASA during 2022-23 (https://www.azed.gov/), while approximately 76% of high schoolers failed the mathematics portion of the ACT that same year (https://www.azed.gov/). English proficiency rates were also low; around 62.4% of younger students failed English on the AASA (https://www.azed.gov/) and about 65% of high schoolers did not pass English on the ACT (https://www.azed.gov/).
Recent data shows some improvement: during the 2023-24 school year, about 27% of high schoolers passed mathematics on the ACT (https://www.azed.gov/) and roughly 28.5% of students in grades 3 through 8 passed mathematics on the AASA (https://www.azed.gov/).
“Your feedback on this draft is essential,” states information from Cochise County officials.
“Your input is greatly appreciated.”
