Kudos To Oro Valley Council Denying Miller Ranch Rezoning

Turning the developer down for requesting yet another continuance for his Miller Ranch development, the council stood tall. Although the developer saw fit to not attend the meeting, the council voted to not approve his rezoning request by a 5-1 vote, with Mayor Loomis the sole vote and Mr. Gillaspie not in attendance.

Also absent was Planning Director Sarah More who endorsed the rezoning. Sitting in for Ms. More was Assistant Planning Director, Paul Popelka who gave a totally unbiased report on behalf of staff, inferring, however, that he thought the applicant was looking for higher density and higher building heights.

Five residents addressed the council, all asking that the rezoning not be approved.

Kudos to Mr. Popelka and the five council members. It was certainly refreshing to witness it on the streaming video.

CityNorth Subsidy Case Impacting How Cities Deal With Private Developers

A story in the April 12 Az Republic notes that the CityNorth subsidy case awaiting an Az Supreme Court ruling could trigger major changes in how cities work with private developers and in the longtime practice of awarding sales-tax subsidies to them.

Noted within the article is the fact that communities that used tax breaks to attract retail developments have temporarily halted the process pending the outcome of the case.

"Oro Valley already has stopped making subsidy payments directly to developers and is instead putting the money into an escrow account. The town has deals with Vestar Development Co. of Phoenix, Bourn Partners of Tucson and the Hilton El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort."

Read the article here.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2009/04/12/20090412biz-citynorth0412.html

Brenda Ryan Voices Her Opinion On OVPD Issue In Az Star Letter

OV police must share in budget cuts

Oro Valley claims to have a low rate of crime. My experience has been that the crime is ignored by the police. At a recent Town Council meeting, police individuals made impassioned speeches about retaining their jobs as if they were the only people in town that mattered. The chief of police is the one who made the recommendation to cut six positions . . . not the Town Council.

I noticed that these caring police personnel left the meeting after their presentation showing no inclination or interest in other business matters being considered by the Town Council. Rather self-focused, I felt.

Everybody needs to tighten his/her belt in this economic downturn. The citizens cannot be assigned more fees and taxed out of their homes to support police who have made no offer to reduce any costs for their own department. Let's be fair about these problems and share in their solution.

Brenda Ryan

Retired teacher and administrator,

Oro Valley

Was The 2006 Pima County Transit Tax Vote Rigged?

As reported in the April 15 AZ Republic, criminal investigators in Phoenix have spent the past week in a painstaking recount of 120,821 ballots that were cast in 2006 for a Pima County transit tax.

Read the story here.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2009/04/15/20090415votefraud.html

Oro Valley Planning Director Endorses Miller Ranch Rezoning. Shame On Her!

An April 15 Explorer article discusses the proposal by the developer of The Old Miller Ranch property near La Canada & Tangerine. In a recent posting we said we believe the developer has self-serving needs that are NOT in the best interests of the residential neighbors. See---
Who Might Desco Southwest LLC Be Looking Out For?


This item is scheduled for the April 15 Council meeting, but we've been advised the developer is now asking for a continuance. Whether the council sees fit to grant that request is debatable.

What is NOT debatable is the position of the Oro Valley Planning Director, Sarah More. Ms. More supports the developer, whereas two people whose opinion we respect---Council Member Bill Garner & P & Z Member, Bill Adler feel as we do.

Ms. More ought to understand she is an Oro Valley employee and NOT a spokesperson for the developers!

Here's The Explorer article.
http://www.explorernews.com/articles/2009/04/15/news/doc49e513e6391ec244116466.txt