BISBEE — For several months, 1st Sgt. Christopher Schultz and his wife, Sonja, have been waiting for Cochise County officials to approve a rezoning request that would bring a lot at the intersection of Piette Drive and De Mello streets that they were interested in purchasing into compliance.

The TR-36 lot was split illegally 30 years ago to give more square footage to an adjoining lot by the now-deceased owner, making the smaller lot of around 21,136 square feet a non-conforming lot. TR-36 means it is zoned transitional residential with a minimum lot size of 36,000 square feet.

Schultz wanted to rezone the lot to TR-18 — transitional residential with a minimum lot size of 18,000 square feet — so he could move a triple-wide manufactured home on it for his family’s residence when he retires from the Army.

Those plans changed when he was faced with stiff opposition from his neighbors and with the time lag in getting the rezoning approval. He told the supervisors that he instead had moved onto Fort Huachuca.

Supervisor Paul Newman asked if Schultz’s move made the rezoning a moot point.

Deputy County Attorney Britt Hanson said the owner, now a trust, was still seeking the rezoning request.

“This puts the hearing in a whole new light,” Newman said. “The landowner knew she was splitting the lot illegally. This casts a worse shadow on the subject even more than before. I can’t support it.”

Supervisor Chairman Richard Searle said, “I’m not opposed to bringing property into compliance, but I can’t support this with all the opposition.”

Newman added, “I felt like someone was trying to pull the wool over our eyes — not the sergeant, the land owner’s estate. I think this would set a precedent for spot-zoning. I don’t agree with the planning and zoning staff’s recommendation to approve it.”

When it came to the vote, the rezoning was denied with a unanimous vote of the board members.

In other business, the supervisors approved an amendment between the Cochise County Health Department and the Arizona Health Cost Care Containment System for detention inmate inpatient medical care for the period of this past January through this coming December.

The county entered into the agreement in January 2007 to offset costs of juvenile inmate health care with special state and federal funds.

The amendment adds juvenile inmates to the intergovernmental agreement and an increase in the county’s administrative fees to recover actual costs. The agreement has saved the county more than $21,000 to date.

In other business on Tuesday, the Cochise County Board of Supervisors:

• Authorized the Attorney General’s Office to represent Cochise County in several 2008 tax appeal cases filed with the Arizona Tax Court. The county still maintains the right to approve or disapprove any proposed settlement, as well as to direct the litigation as it sees fit.

• Approved the reappointments of Superior Court Judge Pro Tempore Donna Buemler, Juvenile Court Commissioners Judges Pro Tempore Gerald Till and Jeanne Brenda Whitney, and Justice Court Precinct 5 Pro Tempore Leslie Sansone.

• Approved the purchase of electronic citation hardware and software for the Bowie Justice Court in the amount of $5,653.

• Approved an intergovernmental agreement between the Cochise County Health Department and Arizona Department of Health Services Bureau of Women’s and Children Health. This is a grant-funded, cost reimbursement program in the amount of $3,708. The program allows for screening, laboratory testing treatment and follow-up for patients with sexually transmitted diseases.

• Approved an intergovernmental agreement between Arizona Health Services and the county health department for immunizations that provides $110,000 in funding to immunize county children against vaccine preventable diseases.

• Approved the abandonment of a portion of an alleyway adjoining the east boundary of lot 66 at Mescal Lakes.

• Approved a modification to the existing agreement between the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service which increases funding for the overtime of deputies to $10,000 so the patrols at Parker Lake and other campgrounds in the county can be maintained.