Mayoral Candidate Danny Sharp: “We Need More Rooftops”

Mayoral Candidates Danny Sharp and current Mayor Joe Winfield have different approaches to “Development”

This was noted at the Greater Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce Candidate Forum of June 28. 

Sharp advocates for the “rooftop strategy”. Winfield does not

Danny Sharp stated at the Forum that Oro Valley needs to bring in on-site retail business in order to grow sales tax revenues.  According to Sharp: “We have to bring in more retail. We don’t have the retail because we need to bring in more rooftops.”

Winfield believes that the General Plan should guide whether variances and general plan amendments should be approved. The Winfield Council abided by the General plan during the past four years. Winfield promised to do so when he ran in 2018 and he did so. Only one general plan amendment was submitted and it was rejected because it did not fit the concept for that area.

The “rooftops strategy” is a revisit to the Hiremath Years

The “rooftops strategy” is a revisit to the Mayor Satish Hiremath years (2010-2018) of leadership. It was his strategy. Hiremath was eager to grow rooftops because he felt it would attract retail business and increase the town’s sales tax revenue. His council, which included current council candidate Bill Rodman and current Council Member Steve Solomon, approved a slew of general plan amendments, converting land into high density residential zoning. His council was so eager to increase rooftops that they approved several general plan amendments before the citizen vote that approved the 2016 “Your Voice, Our Future” general plan was ratified by the Secretary of State.

The “rooftops strategy” added to congestion but did not foster retail business success

As LOVE reported, the Hiremath Council left Oro Valley with a large pipeline of residences to build. As a result, the town’s population has and will continue to grow substantially.  Still, onsite retail struggles in this town before, during and now after the Pandemic. One merely needs to look at the vacancies at the Oro Valley Marketplace and the need for complete revisioning as an example of the failure of this strategy. Indeed, one could reasonably question the feasibility of the “rooftop strategy” in today’s retail world, a world where on-line retailing, a lack of personnel, and huge supply chain issues are plaguing brick and mortar retailers. 

We believe it was the rejection of the “rooftops strategy” that propelled Winfield, Barrett, Jones-Ivey and Nicholson to win the 2018 election, defeating Hiremath and his team. Voters were tired of the congestion that the rooftop strategy has caused.

Sharp will be more aggressive in pursuing growth.

For example, Sharp would have approved the Oro Valley Marketplace revisioning as presented 

Sharp blames Winfield for not approving the Oro Valley Marketplace revisioning as presented to council.

Sharp stated at the Forum: “When people propose projects we need to be sensitive to the fact that this costs them money. We need to be sensitive…We should have told Town West years ago that what they were proposing would not be approved and that they needed to come up with something that fits within the town’s framework.”

What was presented to council was vetted by town staff in detail, vetted at neighborhood meetings, vetted by the Planning and Zoning Commission, and vetted at a public hearing before council. This is the town’s process. There was no opportunity for the Council to tell Town West anything because the council can only discuss the project together in public at a hearing after this process has been completed. 

After all this, however, what was presented to council-15 exceptions to code, 75 foot tall buildings, and minimal road setbacks- was “not in character” with the town. Still, the council wanted to shape this project because the Oro Valley Marketplace is a commercial disaster; so they continued the application as opposed to rejecting it.

We believe that it is reasonable to conclude that Sharp would have approved the project as presented because the developer had invested so much into it and because the project had gone through a long process.

Sharp does agree with Winfield in one area. According to Sharp, speaking at the forum: “If [a developer] brings in something that is not in character with the town, we need to find a compromise to get to ‘Yes.’”That is exactly what Winfield did. In June, Town West, the owner of the Marketplace, presented a new plan that is more in line with existing codes and the character of the town . It is a revised plan that both Sharp and Winfield said they would support.

 "The properties currently under consideration for annexation

by the Town of Oro Valley are the two State Land‐ owned sites

indicated on the map below, referred to as Tangerine North

(302 acres), and Tangerine South (550 acres)."

Sharp will vigorously pursue the annexation of the Tangerine State Lands

Both Sharp and Winfield agree that town should annex the Tangerine Road State Lands. This is 852 acres, split into two portions (panel left). Sharp asserts that it should have happened long ago because he worked on it with State Lands when he was interim town manager (June 2016 to September 2017). 

However, as stated by Winfield and as reported in LOVE, the State discontinued conversation with the town in July of 2019 because State Lands was short of staff. They were to continue discussions in November of that year but failed to do so. Sharp would seek to restart these discussions immediately. The town’s annexation plan calls for seeking this annexation in the near term.

…Though not all residents want this annexation

It is not at all clear that residents want the town to annex these lands and open them for development. Annexation and development of these lands met significant opposition from residents when presented at neighborhood meetings.

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Oro Valley Is Not Approaching "Buildout"

There has been for some time now the idea floated by town staff that Oro Valley is approaching "buildout." It is often referred to as some "dreaded event"; as if something dreadful will happen if the town stops growing. Understanding this, town council defined a strategic objective last February to "Develop a buildout analysis that projects short and long-term impacts to Town service levels and provides potential mitigation options." According to Town Manager Jacobs, that analysis will not be available until the winter of 2023.

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"Buildout" is a vague term

The town has not defined what it means when it says that Oro Valley is approaching buildout. We say this because the town has 20,300 acres of buildable land of its 27,000 acre size. As of last April, 10,900 acres were "built-out". 10,400 acres were "Vacant". That's 20,300 acres of buildable land. 

Certainly, a town that has almost half of its available building land designated as "vacant" is not approaching any building saturation point.  So, to what is the town referring when it says that Oro Valley is approaching buildout?

It is unplanned vacant land to which the town refers when it says that Oro Valley is reaching buildout...but that is is only 15% of total vacant land available for growth

85% of the 10,400 acres of vacant land have an approved plat or development plan. The remaining vacant land is designated by the town as "unplanned."  This land  is mostly located the periphery of the town [see panel]. 

We think that it is this land, the vacant "unplanned land," to which the town is referring with it says that town is reaching “buildout.” 

That is an unfair definition because it fails to recognize that other other 8.900 acres are either being built or will be built also.

Permitting activity remains strong... Lots of construction remains

By no means is the town approaching "buildout." Construction remains strong in Oro Valley and it will be such for along time. In November, for example,  "220 total permits were issued . . . compared to 160 permits issued in October. Year-to-date, 2,380 total permits have been issued since the beginning of the year compared to 2,290 issued during the same period in 2020." (Source: Town Manager Executive Report To Council, December 2021)

Town annexation strategy would increase available land for homes via the "Tangerine 880"

The town's annexation strategy will increase land for growth. The major source of a near team increase land for homes is the 880 acres of state land ("Tangerine South"and "Tangerine North"). That is a "near term target". This land is located on the Northwest tip of Oro Valley. It would extend Oro Valley's reach to Thornydale. 

The town vetted the Tangerine North annexation to the community in 2017-2018. It was met with resident opposition. Read one report on this here. Both the North and South Tangerine annexations remains open. If not heard by this council, it will certainly be heard by the next council.

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Last State Lands "Informational Meeting" Tonight

Tonight is the last of four focus area workshops on the "...rezoning of an Arizona state-owned property comprising approximately 885-acres located north and south of Tangerine Road in proximity of Thornydale Road and Shannon Road, OV1802373 6 – 7:30 pm at Casas Church, 10801 N. La Cholla Boulevard."

It is a chance for you to learn what the town is considering. You will also have the opportunity to voice your thoughts.

However, the time to present your opinion is when the rezoning is heard by the Planning and Zoning Commission; and then, by the council. So, we suggest that you go to the meeting to learn as much as possible so that you will be able to present a cogent discussion to the commission and to the council if you wish to do so.

The meeting will be held from 6 – 7:30 pm at Casas Church, 10801 N. La Cholla Boulevard.
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Mark your calendars

Tangerine State Land Rezoning

Neighborhood Meetings

This Thursday, September 13th

6:00 to 8:00 PM

Town Council Chambers

Next Thursday, September 20th

6:00 to 8:00 PM

Town Council Chambers

Please read the below Guest View for complete details on what is being proposed for this 885 acre parcel and why you should attend this meeting.

Guest View: Alyssa Page ~ More desert destruction on the horizon

The Town of Oro Valley is moving forward with extraordinary urgency regarding the State Trust Land (885 acres of pristine Sonoran Desert) that lies at the northwestern edge of Oro Valley. The reason for the urgency is a mystery, but here is what we know so far.

On August 28th, Primary Election Day, the Town of Oro Valley residents voted to replace the incumbent mayor and council with Joseph Winfield (mayor) and Joyce Jones-Ivey, Josh Nicolson and Melanie Barrett (town council). The newly elected officials ran on the platform of responsible development and improving compromise and balance between residents and developer interests.

The very next morning, August 29th, the Town staff were out pounding their notorious yellow “Public Meeting” signs into the ground announcing two neighborhood “public meetings” on September 13th and 20th regarding the State Land annexation.

Proposed Rezoning Area
(Source: Town of Oro Valley)

Why have the meetings within one week of each other? The typical purpose and timeline of neighborhood meetings is to gather information from the first meeting, then make alterations based on resident input which is then presented at the second meeting. Most neighborhood meetings are weeks apart or even a month or more apart. Seven days is highly unusual, and hardly allows for any changes or compromise.

Here is the potential real problem
Once two neighborhood meetings have been held, the minimum requirement has been met. At this point, the proposal moves forward to Planning and Zoning and then to the Town Council for approval.

Where is the real community outreach and compromise with the people who live around this area?

Real public input should include the following
After the two neighborhood meetings, there should be smaller group meetings with neighbors in each unique area; north, south, east, and west of the property. If that sounds like a lot of little meetings, that’s how many different and diverse neighborhoods there are around these 885 acres. All of these people will be affected by this rezoning and annexation. Therefore, each of these surrounding neighborhoods needs to be listened to individually. These meetings should all happen after the September 20th meeting after which we should gather together again for one or even two large neighborhood meetings, to finalize the compromises. That would be real public input and involvement.

Other concerning and mysterious details
In the original Tangerine State Land Rezoning and Annexation documents posted on orovalleyaz.gov the following dates were listed.

Meeting Dates-
1. First neighborhood meeting – September 13,
2. Second neighborhood meeting – September 20, 2018
3. Planning and Zoning Commission Hearing – October 8, 2018*
4. Town Council hearing – October 24, 2018*
(*Tentative and subject to change)

However, by Friday, August 31st, the Planning and Zoning and Town Council hearing dates were removed and replaced with “To be Determined.”

Is the staff and council’s intent to push this rezoning and future annexation through prior to the new council being sworn in in November?

What is being presented on September 13th
High-density Condo, Apartment (up to five stories high) and Townhome parcels. Upwards of 1500+ units and potentially over 1500+ single family homes on small 5500 sq ft lots. In all there will be 3000+ units, plus additional commercial sites all on 885 acres.

This is the largest rezoning and annexation in Oro Valley in over a decade. Let’s get this deal done right and not rush into rezoning deals that Oro Valley and her residents will later regret and resent.

Please come to both neighborhood meetings on September 13th and 20th. Your presence is needed.

Click HERE to read the Town notice of the two meetings.
Click HERE to read the project fact sheet.
Click HERE to read Tim Stellar's article in the Arizona Daily Star.  Read what Mayor Hiremath and Mayor-elect Joe Winfield have to say about this rezoning.
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Alyssa Page is a wife, mother, writer, photographer and community activist. She is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a BFA in Photographic Design and a minor in Communications.

Two Important Neighborhood Meetings this Week

During both meetings, the applicant will provide a presentation and Town staff will facilitate the meeting. The focus will be on addressing your questions and concerns.

For more information on either of these two proposals, please contact Michael Spaeth at mspaeth@orovalleyaz.gov


Neighborhood Meeting
Tangerine State Land General Plan Amendment

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

6:00 PM

Casas Church

10,801 N. LaCholla Blvd.

This proposed amendment will extend the General Plan Planning Boundary and add a land use designation of Master Planned Community to 321 acres of State-owned property at the NW intersection of W. Tangerine and N. Coyote Crossing (and bordered by W. Moore Road and N. Thornydale Road).

For more information, click HERE

Neighborhood Meeting
Big Wash General Plan and Planned Area Development (PAD) Amendments

Thursday, August 3, 2017
6:00 PM

Icagen

2090 E. Innovation Park Drive

This proposed amendment is for the remaining undeveloped parcels in Rancho Vistoso Neighborhood 5, comprising approx. 108 acres between the future Moore Road loop on the west and Rancho Vistoso Blvd. on the east.

For more information, click HERE