Guest View-Diane Peters: Who's Really To Blame For Oro Valley's High Density Developments?

Many Oro Valley residents have stated their displeasure with all the high density developments that have been approved since Mayor Hiremath and Councilmembers Hornat, Snider, and Waters took office in 2010. The three new apartment complexes on Oracle Road have been most frequently cited.

In response, someone, has attempted to take the onus off the Majority-4 by claiming, in a published letter entitled "Laughable Presentation,that all three apartment complexes on Oracle Road were approved by a unanimous vote. The writer specifically named Councilmembers Burns, Garner, and Zinkin as partaking in those unanimous votes.

The writer was wrong.

• All votes were not unanimous. 
• Zinkin and Burns were not on council when these approvals occured. 
• Garner voted against two of the three complexes.

These are the FACTS as stated in the public record:

Encantada at Steam Pump ~ 270 apartments:
This rezoning was approved in April 2011. Mike Zinkin and Brendan Burns were not on council. They took office on June 6, 2012, so how could they have voted to approve a rezoning that took place in 2011? The Conceptual and Architecture Plans for this project were approved in May 2012, but it would still be another month before Burns and Zinkin would take office.

El Corredor at Oracle and Linda Vista ~220 apartments:
This one required a Major General Plan Amendment to convert 13 acres to high density residential. That vote took place in December 2011. Zinkin and Burns were not on council and Bill Garner voted against it. When the high density rezoning for this project was approved in May 2012, Zinkin and Burns were still one month shy of having any voting powers on the town council.

Villas at San Dorado ~ 274 apartments:
This rezoning was approved in April 2012. That’s right… Zinkin and Burns were still not on council and Bill Garner was absent that night. Yet the writer claimed that all three of them voted to approve it! When the Conceptual Site Plan was approved in November 2012, Zinkin and Garner were opposed.

Then council member, now current council candidate, Steve Solomon voted to approve all of these:

• Encantada: Solomon approved the rezoning, the Conceptual Site Plan, and the Architecture Plan.
• El Corredor: Solomon approved the Major General Plan Amendment and the rezoning that followed.
• Villas at San Dorado: Solomon approved the rezoning. He lost his bid for re-election the following month.

If you want to protect what’s left of our scenic views, and you want YOUR VOICE to continue to be heard, please join me in re-electing Brendan Burns, Bill Garner, and Mike Zinkin to the Oro Valley Town Council.

Diane Peters
Oro Valley Resident