BISBEE — The Cochise County Planning and Zoning Commission members had a welcomed, relatively easy agenda for their second meeting in July held Wednesday night.

The commission unanimously approved a special-use permit request by June Windstein of Willcox allowing her to process apples into sweet and hard cider.

Windstein plans to manufacture, store and distribute agricultural-related products with apples grown in the you-pick apple orchard on the 35-acre parcel known as Brown’s Orchard on Atwood Road, stated planner Keith Dennis.

After years of working on the “perfect” recipe, Windstein figures she has completed her task and is ready to go into production to offer these new products for sale in the orchard store. She has already received a recommendation of approval from the Board of Supervisors to get the Series 13-Farm Winery liquor license, which has been forwarded to the state.

She also requested two waivers, one to allow the driveway to remain at 15 feet wide, and the second exempts her from putting down 2 inches of gravel.

The commission also approved a special-use permit requested by Linda Altieri, who plans to move from Marana, that will allow her to open a small-scale manufacturing company that produces car seats for specific classic cars. The business, called Arizona Saguaro Manufacturing, will be housed in an 1,800-square-foot existing structure on .86 of an acre located at the intersection of Camino de Tundra and North Calle Primero near Highway 90 in Whetstone. She also plans to bring in three metal storage containers to warehouse materials used in the construction of the seats.

Altieri’s request was given unanimous approval with a few conditions, including limiting hours of operations from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays only and house the air compressor for her work inside the building.

In another unanimous decision,  Lisa and Kurt Ogren, the owners of Mountain View Koi & Nursery, received a recommendation of approval to rezone 1.5 acres on East Keeling Road from TR-36 (transitional residential with a minimum lot size of 36,000 square feet) to GB (general business) to legitimize the existing use.

The Ogrens have seen their business of selling koi, goldfish, pond plants, cactus and landscape plants grow over the past 12 years they have been in business, said county planner Mike Turisk. With the nursery’s expansion and the fish ponds, the Ogrens exceeded their home occupation permit, he added. The approval brings their operation into compliance. The final word will be given by the Board of Supervisors at its Aug. 9 meeting.

A second rezoning in Sunsites, as requested by Greg and Charlotte Sweatt and Albert Talbott and Donna Starlings, took a bit more time for the commission members to understand.

The Sweatts, who operate an irrigation supply company, own three parcels adjoining the Talbott and Starlings land. But two of the parcels, which are each two acres, were a result of illegal lot splitting in an RU-4 (rural residential with a minimum lot size of four acres) zone, Turisk said.

In order to grant a rezoning from RU-4 to LI (light industry), the commission suggested the three Sweatt parcels be combined into one that could then be rezoned as requested.

Starling and Talbott have a pecan orchard and a pump and equipment service on their 23-acre parcel. They want to add pecan processing and retail sales at the orchard, a welding shop, professional services and unspecified light industrial uses on the land located at the corner of Birch Road and Highway 191, Turisk said.

The commission members unanimously voted to recommend approval to the supervisors for the rezoning with a few stipulations devised by the planning department. Sweatt has to combine his three parcels into one and have it recorded in the Cochise County Recorder’s Office in 30 days. Sweatt also will have to submit a revised site plan indicating the location of the outdoor storage for irrigation supplies.

Third, the applicants must record on their deeds the square footage for the uses they proposed.

Lot 10 owned by Talbott and Starling will be allowed up to 5,000 square feet of additional space added to an existing structure. Lot 11, the orchard, is allowed to build up to an additional 15,000-square-foot facility for the pecan processing plant. The combined lots of Sweatt will be allowed up to an additional 5,000 square feet for irrigation supply expansion.

That rezoning will go before the board of supervisors on Aug. 19.

The next Cochise County Planning and Zoning Commission meeting will be held at 4 p.m. on Aug. 13.