Guest View-Shirl Lamonna: Mixed Use-Is It Really In Our Nature?

Who buys a house – or even a car - based strictly on the word of the seller? Who sends their child away to college without first exploring the quality of education and safety on campus? Who accepts a job without understanding the duties, salary and benefits?

So why should anyone accept the notion that a “Mixed Use” zoning code will be a benign change to the Oro Valley General Plan without examining the consequences? Further, why allow those who refuse to investigate the agenda behind the “Mixed Use” concept to impose their ignorance upon Oro Valley?

Heard frequently in Council chambers, the terms New Urbanism, “Mixed Use”, Smart Growth, Land Use Policies, Walkable Communities, Sustainable Development and Multi Use Dwellings are among the many code words used to implement a political agenda - referred to as Sustainability - at the local level. But the devil is in the details.

Left unsaid is that Gro Brundtland, the Vice President of the World Socialist Party introduced “Sustainable Development” in 1987 and defined it as follows:

"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts:
   • the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and
  • the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs."

At first glance, this seems harmless. In reality, it means that our single family homes with yards are considered to be unsustainable; that we need to get out of our cars and take public transportation; that we should ultimately live, work and play in “stack and pack” Mixed Use developments which will change the entire complexion, values and “nature” of Oro Valley.

Is it any wonder that there’s a lack of trust with unelected staff who promote this agenda at every opportunity? And a similar lack of trust with many elected officials who have no knowledge of the history, intent, or consequences of "sustainable development" policies?

Clearly there is a need to look beyond the fancy talk and identify the impact on the “nature” of the town.

A major area of concern is with the vague nature of the “Mixed Use” designation. According to a recent Guest View: "At this stage a property owner can't be offering anything specifically to customers because he doesn't have the authority to actually develop “Mixed Use”. He is simply changing the designation on the property. Architecture and more details on traffic, uses, density happens at the re-zoning stage...an entirely separate and much more specific, detailed set of requirements."

This means that a developer must first apply for a “Mixed Use” designation on his property and then seek to rezone it. At present, this rezoning requires a super-majority vote of five council members. You may recall, however, that Staff wants to change the requirements for a major and minor General Plan amendment so that most everything will become a simple majority vote. Such a move would undoubtedly make Staff’s job easier but it is not in the best interest of any existing homeowner near any vacant land in the Town.

This isn’t a partisan issue “Mixed Use” will clearly impact the “nature” of Oro Valley as the Town seeks to build out the remaining empty land parcels. Wouldn’t you prefer the current prescribed range of zoning uses - not a vague code designation called “Mixed Use” that is subject to broad interpretation and special interest manipulation? I urge everyone to do their own research on this matter and get involved before it’s too late.
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