Opposition to OVCN Sports Complex Continues

Residents unanimously oppose the OVCN Sports Complex 
Opposition to the sports complex proposed by the Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene “OVCN continues.  Residents have formed the "Concordia-Buena Vista Group" to oppose this complex.

Tim Tarris represented the group at the town council meeting of September7. We have included a video of his remarks to council in the insert below, right.

Tim and members of his group have been speaking to council members at each council meeting.

The following are from remarks made in June

Speaking to council, resident Jessica Tran, who lives near the church said: “I am a stay at home mom of two children under the age of two. We absolutely love our home and the area we live in. However, the traffic has been greater than we expected when we originally purchased our home.

We recently experienced a scary incident where an impatient driver was tired of waiting at the 4-way stop sign in front of our home and therefore drove through our driveway to dodge traffic. My daughter approximately 12 months at the time and I were outside exploring collecting rocks (something we regularly do). 

We could have easily been hit had we been in our driveway rather than on the side of the driveway. It was scary, frustrating and concerning to say the least. I assume we would see more behavior like that if the church continues to grow. As a resident of this area and as a mother I do not want that. I strongly encourage you to not continue with this rezone for the sake of the residents of this neighborhood.”

At he same meeting in June, resident Tarris noted just how out-of-place a large sports complex is in this area of our town.

 “Tonight I am going to speak in perspective on where large items might fit. Choosing a random location, I pick 500 W. Concordia, the site of the church. On this R-144 residentially zoned parcel, the following would fit 

• 8 Boeing 747 aircraft or  
• 6 St. Louis Gateway Arches or 
• 4 Saturn V rockets (placed horizontally) or
• 2 Empire State Buildings (placed horizontally) or
• 1 Gerald R. Ford Class United States Aircraft Carrier 

Obviously, no resident of Oro Valley would ever consider having overly large items such as these, that take up space, draw crowds and make a lot of noise anywhere in our community, much less in a residential neighborhood. 

There is one item however, that just won’t fit. An unwanted sports complex shoehorned into an existing neighborhood absolutely against the wishes of the long time residents.

Having the items that might fit in the neighborhood would be a novelty

But having one item that would not and absolutely should not be there would be a disaster for the families that live there and don’t just visit on Sunday.”

Bits and Pieces

Former Oro Valley Deputy Chief Stevens disputes key assertion regarding Candidate Sharp’s financial competence

In a communication to LOVE, former Oro Valley Deputy Chief Stevens disputes an assertion in the Guest View of former Council Member Bill Garner. It regards Candidate Danny Sharp’s financial acumen. That Guest View concluded Sharp needed the help on Oro Valley resident with the 2011 budget. According to the writer, this demonstrated that Sharp does not have financial competence. 

This is “Not so,” according to Stephens. “Bill Garner talks about the department, including me, reaching out to John Musolf because Chief Sharp was at a loss. Not correct, Chief Sharp and I met with many residents over budgetary and other issues they questioned. We met with John Musolf as he presented himself as Bill Garner's budget advisor and we hoped to educate John a bit to avoid the constant public misrepresentations.”

Oro Valley Police Department receives grant to combat collision-causing driving behavior
ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (July 21, 2022) – The Oro Valley Police Department (OVPD), through financial support from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (AZGOHS), has received $64,528.00 in funding during Fiscal Year 2022 to support the purchase of a vehicle specifically dedicated to detecting and addressing hazardous collision causing driving behaviors.  In addition to being deployed on the main thoroughfares of the Town, the vehicle will be utilized to address traffic safety concerns voiced by the community. (Source: Oro Valley Police Department Press Release)

Town of Oro Valley is implementing a new water billing system
“If you don't receive your Vista at the usual time next month, that’s because the Town is transitioning its Water Utility billing system to a new vendor, and there will be a shift in the timing of when you receive your water bill in the mail (which is how we distribute the Vista). Keep an eye out for more details coming soon from the OV Water Utility.” (Source: Oro Valley Vista Newsletter, August 2022)

Challenger candidates campaign at the Oro Valley Church of Nazarene
Oro Valley’s next town council will have to make a decision on approving or denying the Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene’s (OVCN) request to rezone and repad land next to the church so that OVCN can create a sports megaplex. There is longstanding and continuing opposing to this by every neighbor.

Here we see current Council member Greene, and council candidates Joe Erceg and Charlie Hurt “all smiles” at the OVCN a few weeks ago. 

The reader who sent us the picture notes that Council Member Greene is wearing a shirt with the Oro Valley logo, making it appear that he is representing the town. The reader also observes that candidate Erceg states on his web site that he had recently joined OVCN and that he looks forward to being involved in a large sports program in the future. The reader also wonders if candidate Charlie Hurt displays de facto support for the Church simply by being in the photo.   

The question the reader poses: Will the neighbors have any hope of prevailing if Erceg and Hurt are elected, given that the Oro Valley Town Council already has two OVCN Members (Greene and Solomon)?

Ownership of the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve transferred to the Town of Oro Valley
The Town of Oro Valley has officially assumed ownership of the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve (formerly known as the Vistoso Golf Course), an open space for passive recreation such as walking, biking and bird watching. The Town will be working on safety improvements including general maintenance and paved pathway repairs. 

A temporary trailhead has been designated near the former clubhouse, located on the 6.3-acre parcel of land that was purchased by independent developer Ross Rulney and is not part of the Town-owned 202-acre parcel. Restrooms will remain closed as staff assesses the best way to make necessary improvements, to include ADA accessibility. Stay tuned for details on a master planning process that will begin this fall. For more information and an updated trail map visit www.orovalleyaz.gov and search for VISTOSO. (Source: Oro Valley Vista Newsletter, August 2022)

Town of Oro Valley hosting conversation on mental health

ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (July 26, 2022) – The Town of Oro Valley invites residents to participate in a Community Conversation on Mental Health on Tuesday, August 9 at 6 p.m. in the Oro Valley Council Chambers (11000 N. La Cañada Drive). 

This first-time event is hosted by the Oro Valley Parks and Recreation Department and will feature a panel of representatives from the Oro Valley Police Department, Oro Valley Parks and Recreation, Golder Ranch Fire District, Arizona Complete Health and local mental health professionals.

The community is invited to come and learn about local mental health resources, have insightful conversations and ask questions to panel members. The event is free and will also be available virtually via Zoom. (Source: Town of Oro Valley Press Release)

Guest View-Tim Tarris: Our Beautiful Community

The Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene is seeking a rezone of their property to expand. 

The Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene has joined with Upward Sports and Fellowship of Christian Athletes to insert a commercial level sports complex into our residential neighborhood.

Upward Sports is an international multi-million dollar operation to blend sports with religion and partners with churches to do so. They are a 501(c)3 non profit that benefits financially from their programs.

Fellowship of Christian Athletes is an international multi-million dollar sports ministry and is also a 501(c)3 non-profit. There are multiple cases of litigation challenging their activities in public schools and the United States Air Force Academy. 

This video [below right] was developed by the Concordia/Buena Vista Group to present our neighborhood as it exists.

The Concordia/Buena Vista Group does not oppose the vision of the church or its partners, only the choice of location. The church and its partners are demonstrating a complete lack of compassion for the neighbor's views.

Installing a commercial level operation into a residential neighborhood would be devastating to the long time residents. These permanent changes include increased traffic, lighting, noise, non-Oro Valley participants, and overall unnecessary and unwanted disturbance to the existing neighbors. Residential property devaluation would be in the millions of dollars, and the emotional damage to these neighbors is unfathomable.

The clergy live on average five miles away. Very few of the congregants live within a mile of the church. Thus, it seems Ok to them to permanently alter a historical portion of Oro Valley to meet their needs. The 14 perimeter property owners (100%) have submitted in writing, to the town, their opposition. The entire area is zoned residential and has been before Oro Valley became a town.

The church has deliberately delayed town meetings and Town Council consideration until after the upcoming election in hopes of a favorable outcome. Two of the current council members attend the church and one candidate has proclaimed his membership. They are stacking the deck to get their way.

Please vote responsibly in the upcoming election to help preserve our neighborhood. We believe a favorable outcome can be had with the current council. Decades of quiet living should not be undone by non-residents.

Thank you.
The Concordia/Buena Vista Group

Guest View-Chris Collins, OVCN: Our Sports Complex Makes Sense For Oro Valley

Our Sports Complex Makes Sense For Oro Valley 

Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene has been involved with planning and developing our entire campus with the town of Oro Valley since June of 2020. 

Our 29 acre property currently has 3 different zoning designations. Our effort to combine our entire campus into one zoning designation brings with it clarity and a master plan for how the property will be developed over the next decade. While the zoning effort with the town represents a civic and political effort, our motivation is rooted in our religious activity and mission.  

We believe every building and facility we have is a sanctuary, providing opportunities for worship in different forms.  Every part of our campus has an intended use to share the love of Christ. We can’t separate facility programming from our biblical mission to love God and serve others because our goal is for everyone participating in an activity, meeting, or service at one of our existing or proposed facilities to hear a gospel message through our interactions, words, or both. Every inch of our campus spaces, buildings and facilities that God has blessed us with are used intentionally for religious purposes. 

Our development plan as part of this rezoning request has been scrutinized and vetted for nearly 18 months now. We’ve worked tirelessly with the town planners and staff to answer questions and concerns raised by neighbors and citizens of the town of Oro Valley. 

The town engineers have worked with our team to resolve issues related to traffic, noise, lighting, storm run-off, and obstructed views. We have contracted with specialist in these areas and they have worked with town staff to mitigate concerns. 

In our view, we have made several good faith concessions intended to answer questions that have been raised by both neighbors and town staff. We feel strongly that our plan fits in well with the active corridor stretching from Oracle to Buena Vista along Calle Concordia.  

Over the years our church has been a partner with the town and other civic organizations. We routinely host events for the Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce, Oro Valley Police Department, FBI, Golder Ranch Fire Department and the town of Oro Valley meetings and candidate forums to name a few. We also work as a partner with the Pima County emergency response team as a site for services in the event of a natural disaster. We feel we are called to be this type of neighbor. And we are honored to host these events when we are able.  

In a growing town like Oro Valley we believe we need more opportunities for kids and families to find community, recreation and faith. We see a need in this area and we want to step up and meet it. We are prayerful and hopeful for an outcome that allows OVCN to walk in the vision God has placed on our hearts and that eliminates challenges brought forth by concerned neighbors.  

Chris Collins
Executive Pastor
Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene

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Guest View: Diane Peters - Observations from the Neighborhood Meeting for the Church of the Nazarene Proposed Rezoning

Background Info
The second Neighborhood Meeting regarding the Church of the Nazarene rezoning request was held in Town Council Chambers on Monday, March 28th. The church property is on 27 acres at the NE corner of Calle Concordia and Calle Buena Vista. A fact-sheet provided by the church states that the church recently acquired an additional 10 acres northeast of the existing building on which they want to expand to broaden the outreach of their youth sports programs.

The existing zoning designation is for religious facilities and private schools. The church wants to rezone to a Planned Area Development (PAD) to construct new buildings and athletic facilities (including an outdoor athletic field with 70-foot tall lights), and an outdoor amphitheater.

The adjacent homes on Calle Buena Vista are zoned R1-144 (rural residential on minimum lot sizes of 144,000 square feet or 3.3 acres). As such, the neighbors are opposed to this rezoning which would drastically change the character of their rural residential neighborhood. I have been informed that, prior to this meeting, several neighbors had met with the pastor only to be frustrated and disappointed with the conversations.

The congregation packed the council chambers
At 6 PM there was a standing room only crowd with approximately 150 people inside the council chambers and approximately 50-75 people standing outside the door in the courtyard listening to the meeting over a courtyard speaker. My hunch (which you will soon see was correct) was that this crowd was made up mostly of the church’s congregation who had packed the room in order to overwhelm and drown out any dissenting views. This scene looked eerily familiar to me. I had flashbacks to when the “Green Shirts” packed every neighborhood meeting during the town’s discussions on possibly closing one or all of the town-owned golf courses. And in doing so, they drowned out all views that did not align with theirs.

Those in the courtyard, including myself and my husband, could hear the presentation but could not see the slide presentation on the screen which made it difficult to follow the proceedings. It was also cold and windy in the courtyard and not conducive to standing there for what was scheduled to be a 90 minute meeting. We left after 20 minutes.

It was an enlightening 20 minutes
While we were there, Pastor Collins (the executive pastor and second in command) spoke about how he came from a broken home and that he had two focuses in life…sports and God. Apparently, these are the two things that saved him and led to the church’s philosophy of saving others using the same approach of “sports and God.”

When he finished his speech, which was all about his testimony to God and nothing about the needs for the rezoning, there was thunderous applause from both inside and outside the council chambers. Yes, my hunch was correct. The congregation had packed the chambers.

Concerns of the adjacent residents
The following day I spoke with a resident who lives near the church whose property will be severely impacted by this rezoning and expansion. He informed me that none of the speakers from the congregation spoke about the issues at hand, but instead used their 3 minutes each to give testimonies to Christ.

In contrast, when the neighbors spoke at the podium, each one spoke on a different topic that was actually relevant to the proceedings. These topics were: Overview, traffic issues, lighting, noise issues, drainage, cost vs. revenue, and changing the character of the neighborhood.

Impression
The impression expressed by some in attendance was that the beliefs of the church’s pastors and congregation leave no room for negotiation as they, and only they, are properly connected to God. I didn’t even stay for the entire meeting (which ran 2 hours) but that was also my impression after just 20 minutes of observations.

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Diane Peters has lived in Oro Valley since 2003, moving here to escape the humidity of the East Coast. She’s been involved in OV politics and development issues since 2006, including organizing a citizens group in 2014 that spent 9 months negotiating a controversial 200-acre development project. In her past life, she worked in medical research at various University Hospitals in New England. Her interests include reading, writing, nature photography, travel, art galleries, museums, and politics.