Last Thursday, during his "State Of The Town" speech, Mayor Hiremath officially started the 2015 general update process. Last week we asked" "How Closely Should The Oro Valley Town Council Adhere To The General Plan?" This week, we continue our discussion of the 2015 general plan with a look at the 2005 general plan. We look to the past as way of assessing the future. We ask: "How have we done?"The general plan is a guide. Upon occasion, it has been changed to reflect specific projects:
- Oro Valley Town Council approved 6 general plan amendments from December 2011 through September 2013;
- 4 of the 6 amendments involved land use; one involved the process for amending the general plan; and the other extended the town's planning boundaries west toward Marana.
So we ask you the question: "How have we done in realizing the vision of the 2005 general plan?"
General Plan Effectiveness
As the name suggests, the General Plan provides guidance for the future particularly, regarding growth and development. The Plan addresses a broad range of environmental, social and economic factors. The goals and policies are intended to provide the basis for decisions for the community’s long term development.
What Is A “Policy”?
The Plan defines a policy as: “A course of action that the Town shall take to implement the goal to which it relates. When policies are followed and consistently applied, they work to implement the community’s vision for the future.”
Question 1: How can citizens ensure that policies are “followed and consistently applied”?
Question 2: Should policies be followed firmly or with flexibility?
Question 3: Can you say whether the following policies are being followed and consistently applied?
How Has Oro Valley Done?
The following is a policy from the land use section of the 2005 general plan:
"1.2.1 – The Town shall maintain Oro Valley’s predominantly low-density character while considering needs of financial stability and infrastructure efficiency."
Has Oro Valley maintained a "predominantly low-density character?" What do you think?
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8 comments:
NO, Oro Valley has not maintained low-density housing. In fact, the Town planners, Planning and Zoning Commission, and Town Council have supported almost every request to increase the number of homes per acre.
Oro Valley continues to move toward a high-medium and high-density Town. There are a number of General Plan Revisions in process that request higher densities. Many of these requests have already been recommended for approval, even though the process is still in the public-input phase.
Searching for a home nearly 15 years ago, I loved many things about Oro Valley. Among them were: the amount of open space; the beautiful scenery; the affordable homes with large lots (1/2 acre and larger); and the number of one-story homes which did not block another's view.
Oro Valley has NOT maintained a "predominantly low-density".
It seems every developer wants to increase density on their land. As a result, most developers have nearly 60% two-story homes planned on their properties.
Well, well...now the Town is asking for public input on what residents think.
Log onto YourVoiceOV.com
We live in a great Town but they want to make it as congested as Phoenix. That's not why we moved here.
Let's hope our input is clear & their elitist attitudes are put to rest like Pima County's proposed Bond program.
Does anyone know why the post right before this one (newer) does not allow comments?
To All,
We will not be enabling comment posting regarding the recall.
We believe that that would only result in mud slinging and arguing amongst our commenters.
Please read our terms of use if you need further explanation.
If you have any other questions, feel free to email me.
Richard
I recommend less density for local housing.
and more mud slinging for the blog.
What fun is a recall without snark, mud, name calling and OVOT?
Richard, I see you have deleted my comment. Can you please explain how it violated your terms of use?
And what an about-face you have performed here. I'm just taking a wild guess though and suggest it is a very sincere reversal on your part. You must feel deeply ashamed of the mud-slinging you permitted during the previous recall. If that is the case, I'd suggest you reach out to the people in question and apologize.
Moreover, I'm guessing this comment will also be deleted under some phony excuse. I seem to be rubbing salt into wounds here and it appears that L.O.V.E. can dish out, but is utterly incapable of dealing with criticism. What an asset to our community you guys have become!
OVDad,
If you have any questions or wish to complain regarding this blog please send me an email at Richard@letOroValleyExcel.com.
I will converse with you at that time and answer any questions that you have.
What we will not do is to continue to tolerate postings that are completely off base of the topic, whether you post them or others post them.
We will also not tolerate comments that are written specifically to create chaos and mayhem.
Though it might be fun for some to do that, it is not fun for me to have to read each of these and make a decision as to which should remain in which should be removed.
The objective of this blog is to provide factual information to the citizens of Oro Valley. We set that objective in late August 2011, when I took over publishing the blog.
That is going to be our continued intent.
There may be future items that we will post about with which you will disagree. We hope that all of our commenters will always be respectful of others and this blog as they share their views.
Those of you who have any questions regarding this policy should write to me. I will respond.
Richard
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