Mercardo Madarina: Yet Another General Plan Amendment Request

---



There is a general plan amendment being considered for  Mercardo Mandarina.   It is the northeast corner of Tangerine and LaCholla. The property is 27 acres.  It is currently designated as mostly neighborhood commercial office with some low density residential.  The owner wants to amend the low density residential portion of about 8 acres to neighborhood commercial office; then to rezone the entire property of yet a different commercial designation.

About 20 people have shown up to the two neighborhood meetings.  Neighbor objections have been regarding the specifics of the site, none of which are relevant to the decision on land use.  Once again, we wish to emphasize that land use designations do not define the specifics of what will actually be built on the property; just what could be built on the property.

For example, in this instance, there is a suggestion that a senior care facility will be located on this land. WLB, the design firm representing the owner, talked of commercial uses to include a fuel station on the property.

Two people spoke on the proposed amendment at the first public hearing held by the Oro Valley Planning and Zoning Commission on October 16.  The Coalition for Sonoran Desert Preservation, Carolyn Campbell, discussed "environmental considerations regarding sensitive lands.

Resident Bill Adler discussed the "senior care and that kind of thing" property use designation that  WLB had mentioned.  Bill noted that there are a wide variety of "that kind of thing" possible uses when it comes to seniors!  He felt that the 5 acres that would be used for this would only be sufficient if it was for independent living.  Assisted living and skilled living would require more services and, therefore, more space.  Maybe as much as 20 acres would be needed for this use.

Bill's second point was that the request for this use is not even in a general plan category since, in his opinion, the land use designation neighborhood commercial does not include adult care facilities.  Since this is the core of the request, he recommended that the commission look into this further.

County resident and abutter Amber Smith represented residents who own 70 acres.  They support the  general plan amendment to neighborhood commercial. They do not support changing the designation to C1, which is "heavy" commercial use.  They simply do no see the demand for such services.  Nor do they want the disruption of an assisted living facility.

The specifics of what can be built on the property relevant to the land use designation that the general plan addresses only in relation to the third of the four major general plan amendment criteria:

1. The proposed change is necessary because conditions in the community have changed to the extent that the plan requires amendment or modification; and 
2. The proposed change is sustainable by contributing to the socio-economic betterment of the community, while achieving community and environmental compatibility; and 
3. The proposed change reflects market demand which leads to viability and general community acceptance; and 
4. The amendment will not adversely impact the community as a whole, or a portion of the community without an acceptable means of mitigating these impacts through the subsequent zoning and development processes. 

The developer has responded to the first three of these criteria.

If, the request, satisfies the four criteria then it should be approved. If it does not then it should not be approved.
---