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Friday, John Musolf contributed a very detailed, considered piece defining what he thinks is meant by MUN.
As one of our bloggers noted in an email to me:
MUN "...would allow developers to apply for rezoning to allow multiple uses on their land. For example, they could have commercial and apartments/condos on the same parcel. This would be like the apartments sandwiched between the gated community of homes and the Big Five Sporting Goods/Noble Hops strip center at La Canada & Lambert."
So, what does MUN mean? Given we have heard to date, one word keeps coming up when it comes to MUN: Apartments.
A few months ago, the Oro Valley Development and Infrastructure Department and the Developer stated, at a public hearing on Rancho Vistoso Pad 7-I, that there is very little land in Oro Valley zoned for multi-family residential, Apartments. They both felt that more land was needed. Perhaps that is why they supported the general plan amendment that would have allowed apartments on 7-I. Perhaps that is why the Oro Valley Planning and Zoning Commission recommended this change.
At each public hearing the the Oro Valley Development and Infrastructure Department has conducted on Mixed Use, every mixed used development example provided includes Apartments.
This quote is from a highly reliable source:
"It is the intent to make Mixed Use part of a General Plan update - along with other issues - this year."
If a Mixed Use Zoning designation is approved by this Oro Valley Town Council, you should expect to see many requests put forth to rezone properties for mixed use, since mixed used gives developers much more flexibility regarding what can be built on a property: Like apartments.
This designation, once placed on a property, will also make it much more difficult for residents to oppose apartments if they don't want them since the zoning code mixed use will already include a permission to build apartments.
In other words, one never knows what will actually be built on a property once the mixed use designation is placed on the property. Who knows what property 7-I or the Ford Property in Rancho Vistoso would have become if it had been designated under this MUN code.
The mixed use zoning designation was rejected by the Oro Valley voters in approving the 2005 General Plan. So, if the Oro Valley Town Council moves to approve such a designation, they are going directly against the will of the people.
Thing is: Adding this zoning designation to the Oro Valley codes is a major, not a minor change to the General Plan. Therefore, shouldn't it be for the people, not the council, to make this change? That would occur, if approved, in the 2015 General Plan.
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10 comments:
Anyone else concerned about the 288apartments Lopez is building at Steam Pump? Has the Town cut any special deals with him for tax breaks? Will he be begging TOV for money to renovate these apartments in the future? What are we getting into? (Only good thing I can say is that at least that parcel was zoned to permit apts & didn't involve creation of a new Mixed Use code.)
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/best-of-sunday-questions-abound-on-hotel-arizona-proposal/article_335bca9a-c5ce-5f99-81c5-7c09fafd1bd1.html?mode=story
I'm just trying to figure out what you have against apartment dwellers? Are they not "high scale" enough for you Oro Valley residents? You don't want to pay your town employees (i.e. Police Officers haven't seen a pay increase in four years), but you expect them to live and own/rent homes in the area that they protect. Starting salary for an Oro Valley Police Officer is $44,075 per year. Where can you buy a house in Oro Valley with that wage? I know a number of OVPD employees that live in the apartment complexes around town. So, please comment on why you don't want apartment complexes around town. Thanks...
This leads me to another topic… the bashing of OVPD on this blog. Do you really think that the reason that the crime rate is relatively low in Oro Valley is because there are no criminals in or around the area? Or could it be that we have a great police department that keeps a high profile and a proactive reputation? The people on this blog seem to want to get rid of a portion of the police department. Will you feel the same way when you call 911 and it takes a while for the few police officers that are working then to respond? OVPD is an easy target until you need them. Let us hope that you will never need to call the police for an emergency, but the fact is that people do every day in this town, and everyday OVPD officers respond at a moment’s notice. If you want response times like the Tucson Police Department (or no response at all in some cases), then I think that you are well on your way. The officers with any sense would leave this town for the outlying Phoenix agencies where they are appreciated and paid accordingly. Sure, people will always be willing to fill their position here, but an employee who takes a dead end job in this town isn’t someone that I would want running to my rescue. Think about whom you want responding to your house in a crisis, how you want them trained, what equipment you would want them to have, and what you think that service is worth to you at that moment. Comments are appreciated…..
And please stop posting about two or three police cars being on “simple” traffic stops. Fact is that no traffic stop is routine, and you have no clue how many warrants and drugs are taken off of the street. If you are of the opinion that there are too many traffic stops on the scene of a stop, I encourage you to go on a ride-a-long with these officers. See if you would feel that it would be completely safe for someone to handle some of the people that they deal with by yourself. Nobody is coming to your work and blogging about things that they don’t know about in your profession, so I’ll take a line from good old Col. Jessup (A Few Good Men), and yes I am a former Marine myself….
“And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think…”
Side note: Please don’t take this out of context. The OVPD adheres to very high standards, and if a “code red” ever happens there should be consequences. I am referring to the cheap shots taken at the department on this blog, not something illegal happening (like in the movie).
As the owner of several condo units in the Tucson area, I can tell you that the unit I own in Oro Valley is the hardest one to rent. I use a very aggressive management company, the unit is excellent, and location is again in OV. The supply far exceeds the demand in OV, and rents at this unit are 70% of what I get at my other condo units.
Not sure why the push to build more apartments in an area where there just isn't the demand.
Just to comment on the correlation between crime and apartment complexes, anecdotally, via the Explorer's reporting on crime reports, it appears that half of the incidents that occur in TOV originate from a complex on Oracle. Maybe it would be a good idea to subsidize officers rent if they located there?
I would like to address the previous comment from OV. First, the concern is not about apartment “dwellers” or building apartments where it has been zoned appropriately. It is about the man who runs the management company of those apartments. Mr. Lopez has a long history of managing sub-standard housing, buying property and neglecting maintenance and then asking the City of Tucson for money. This is not the kind of people we should be doing business with nor is this a prudent business decision. Furthermore, this is not about apartment “dwellers” as I am sure most of us started our adult lives in apartments. It is about the OVTC amending the voter approved General Plan to accommodate developers without a vote by the OV residents. Faveaunts provided a link to an article, which addresses the concerns with Mr. Lopez; I hope that you read it prior to commenting.
To discuss OVPD, in my opinion, the issue is NOT our actual police officers or the fine job they do. The issue is a budget that well exceeds the national average for police departments and roughly 47% of the towns 2011 – 2012 budget. As with any business, every department needs scrutiny and there are a few departments that have not had their independent review as approved by the previous OVTC.
By no means are we advocating for a cut in our police force. With that said, examining an extremely high budget would give us opportunities to identify areas where money could be saved.
In every profession there are things that people outside of that profession do not understand. Unfortunately, when a profession is paid for by taxpayers (whether it be town, city, state or federal) it then becomes the department’s duty to facilitate that understanding. You cannot merely say you don’t understand and I don’t care what you think. The two and three car traffic stops have become the focal point because it is highly visible and really the only context with which people can draw from. As citizens we don’t have “eyes on” day-to-day spending or contracts. Quoting COL. Jessup, although I agree with his statement having seen combat, when applied here it is out of context, COL Jessup is referring to a practice not a budget. I am not questioning how the job gets done at the street level; I am questioning the entire budget. A review of the budget could address matters as simple as where office supplies are purchased, re-negotiating contracts for daily durable goods etc.
There are expenditures that happen long before our officers don body armor and holster their weapon.
I must also address the statement “an employee who takes a dead end job in this town isn’t someone that I would want running to my rescue.” If anyone views taking a job in OUR town as a dead end job then I welcome them to leave, as one should work where they feel fulfilled.
In closing, having served in the Special Operations community, with one of the largest budgets in the Army, when not on the front lines one of my duties was managing a large budget. As a Non-Commissioned Officer I was always looking for ways I could save money. The ways I found were never to cut the equipment or the quality we needed on the ground to maintain the fight.
Sua, thanks for you very detailed and thoughtful response. I posted OV's comment even though it was far off base from the topic. "Diverting" our attention from the topic at hand is something people do simply to move the conversation from the discussion at hand.
The discussion on hand in this posting relates to what, we have surmised, MUN is really about: Apartments.
Fear, I believe the push for Apartments is based on the fact it is the "construction dujour" of the lenders. In other words, at the moment, it is that for which they are willing to lend money. At the moment, lending on single family residences is almost nonexistent; and with so many vacant commercial properties, lending for commercial is also low.
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Sua Sponte and all,
Thank you for the thoughtful response to my post. I will request that the host of this blog have a post dedicated to the issues surrounding the police department so that these matters can be hashed out in the public view once and for all. I apologize for posting about the police department under the MUN heading. It is good to hear that OV is not opposed to apartments in general, and that it is one developer that they don’t want to see come into the town. Most of us have been in a situation, especially when we were starting out, when we had to live in an apartment. I don’t want to shun people from Oro Valley who are just starting out, or because of other circumstances chose to/or have to live in apartments. I think inviting young families and singles alike would be great for this town. It would bring the youthfulness that it is lacking now.
A question for you Mr. Furash... what can be done about filling the vacant commercial properties? Also, I noticed that in the Fry's complex at Lambert and La Canada that every business has the green or black signs except for Goodwill. Did they get the special treatment?
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OV and All,
In response to OB's request regarding a special discussion of the police, I do think that a fresh, dialogue would be useful. I don't know when. Thing is, everyone I know, including me, believe that the Oro Valley police on the street are the best. We support them thoroughly. Like you, we a disappointed that they have not received pay increases. And, gosh, I never complained about too many patrol cars on a stop because every stop is a risk. The issue is not with the Police, it is with the administration of the department in terms of the allocation of spending.
Anyhow, let's leave that for another posting.
Your question on filling vacant commercial properties is a good one. Boy, I wish I had an answer to that. A dialogue on that would be good.
I lived in apartments until I was in my 20's. There is land zoned for them in my area. So, bring them on! It's not the apartments, its the changes to the General Plan that the people approved that bother us.
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OV,
I am a bit late with my response to your lengthy dialogue about the Police Department. When I read your comments, all I could think to say is OV is no long thinking objectively.
Chris and Sue....The crime statistics for Oro Valley clearly indicate that the apartment complexes result in no more crime that any other piece of geography with and equal number of residents. Our crime centers are retail centers.
The 2011 budget for Oro Valley is $94,219,647. Sue, I think your representation that the OVPD budget is 47% of that number is incorrect.
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