Cresta Morado General Plan Amendment: A Major Turning Point. Important Public Hearing Tomorrow Evening

Planning and Zoning
Tuesday, September 10th
6:00 PM
Town Council Chambers

General Plan Amendment and Rezoning
47-lot residential subdivision (Cresta Morado)
22 acres on the NW corner of Tangerine and La Cholla

This General Plan Amendment is to change the existing development rights FROM Public/Semi-Public TO Medium Density Residential AND Rezoning FROM R1-144 (large lot residential) TO R1-7 (small lot residential).

Why is this important?
(1) The land north of Tangerine was supposed to remain low density rural residential with minimum lot sizes of 3.3 acres (144,000 square feet). Approval of this GPA and Rezoning will set a precedent for all the remaining land on the north side of Tangerine to also be rezoned down to tiny 7,000 sq.ft. mass-graded lots with 2-story homes and connecting walls.

The homes surrounding this 22-acre property are on large lots of 3.3 acres and up. For example, the homeowner living directly north of this parcel lives on approximately 50 acres. Homeowners to the west of the parcel, also on large lots, will lose their views of the Catalina Mountains due to the 2-story homes that are planned.

(2) The request is being made because the landowner, The Episcopal Church of the Apostles, is having financial problems and is operating in the hole. This led to their decision to sell off the 22 acres surrounding the church.

One of our sources has revealed that the church’s deficits were intentional as they were trying to boost their music program by hiring a Music Director and purchasing a $76,000 dollar pipe organ in 2018 (two things they could not afford). Despite announcing a projected deficit of $40,000 in 2018, they told their parishioners not to worry about the deficit because they were going to get approval to sell off the land. They then raised $76,000 in 7 weeks to purchase the pipe organ. (Note: the actual deficit turned out to be $30,000).

In other words, they were deliberately running deficits while crying poverty during the Neighborhood Meetings.

This isn’t the first time that The Episcopal Church of the Apostles has been “unfriendly” to the neighbors. Back in 1998, when the church purchased the property, they allowed their Title Company to sue the adjacent neighbors over deed restrictions.

From “Tucson Weekly, The Skinny, Shill Zone, 4/30/98”

“…[Chuck] Cowles is a leader of the Church of the Apostles and wants the church's proposed new site at the corner of Tangerine Road and La Cholla Boulevard to be in Oro Valley. Why? Because the title company missed the deed restrictions on the new church site and neighboring property when the church made the purchase. To cover its butt, the title company then sued all of the neighbors affected by those deed restrictions to get them declared illegal. The judge ruled in the title company's favor. While the church wasn't directly responsible for the lawsuit, the neighbors hardly looked upon it as an act of Christian charity…” [Source]

As usual, the town staff is recommending approval. Therefore, residents must speak up. We urge you to attend the meeting tomorrow evening and speak during the Public Hearing.

You can find more information about this project HERE

Guest View: Robert Peters ~ Cresta Morado General Plan Amendment and Rezoning Draws Ire From Neighboring Residents

Background
This 22-acre property at the NW corner of La Cholla and Tangerine is currently owned by Episcopal Church of the Apostles. Neighborhood meetings revealed that the church is having financial difficulties which has led to their decision to sell the land surrounding the church. The presenter, Brian Underwood of The Planning Center, stated, “We started this project because the Episcopal Church of the Apostles was in the hole.”

The General Plan Amendment is to change the land use from Public/Semi-Public to Medium Density Residential. The Rezoning request is to rezone from R1-144 (144,000 square foot lots) to R1-7 (7,000 sf lots).

The third Neighborhood Meeting for Cresta Morado was held on February 7th. There were approximately 40 attendees. I did not see any council members in attendance. However, Councilmember Rodman attended the first two neighborhood meetings in January and October 2018 and Vice-Mayor Barrett attended the first neighborhood meeting in January 2018 while a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Town documents reveal the following concerns of adjacent neighbors:

• the request is not consistent with the vision, goals, and policies of the General Plan
• water issues -- nearby wells are declining
• 2-story homes will obstruct their current views of the Catalina Mountains
• light pollution impacting the existing rural character
• negative impact on wildlife
• they do not support any access via Como Drive
•7,000 sf lot sizes and 2-story homes are not compatible with the rural character of the surrounding area

The tension was palpable
When I walked into the Neighborhood Meeting, I could already feel the tension in the room. This “ambience” would soon deteriorate even further into skepticism and distrust for the presenter who apparently had nothing more in mind than to convince the crowd that this was the best deal that they could expect.

The presentation was given by The Planning Center. (Yes, for once it wasn’t The WLB Group). They, as all other planning groups do, glossed over the impact of this rezoning while patting themselves on the back for moving the recreation area to the west side of the property and reducing the number of lots from 54 to 47.

The discussion grew heated in a short amount of time. Some highlights are below:

• A resident asked why they had to go from the lowest density (R1-144) to the highest density (R1-7). The presenter advised that the builder (Richmond) would probably drop out if the lot sizes were any larger than that.

• A resident complained about the recreation area being moved to the west side of the property. This recreation area would now border the large lot homes on the west side. Surrounding residents want the recreation area located away from their homes.

• Why didn’t the church add this rezoning to the 2016 OV General Plan? The presenter advised that the property wasn't on anyone’s radar prior to 2016 and that the church’s financial problems arose after the 2016 General Plan was ratified.

• A homeowner stated that, “The church’s financial mistakes are not my problem.”

• The presenter advised that they don’t consider the homeowners group as a hostile element, to which one homeowner responded, “You can consider me a hostile element.”

• The discussion finally evolved into a look at zoning for the overall Tangerine/La Cholla area. One homeowner noted that it had been understood when they all purchased property in that area (some residents have lived there since the 1980’s) that the land north of Tangerine would always be zoned low-density and the land south of Tangerine was for medium and high density housing.

The transitional lot sizes and buffer zones are inadequate
This property is surrounded by very large rural lots (rural low density residential) including a 50-acre rural property immediately to the north of the proposed development. The “transitional” lot sizes adjacent to this 50-acre rural parcel are just half-acre lot sizes. This is hardly an adequate transition.

The north side of the property (abutting Limewood Drive) shows a buffer yard of just 10 feet plus a 30 foot conservation easement, for a grand total of 40 feet of buffer between a 50-acre rural lot and this medium density development.

The west side of the property (abutting Como Drive) shows a buffer yard of just 30 feet. Granted, this is double the 15 foot requirement but it’s still not nearly enough of a buffer to separate R1-144 zoning (minimum 3.3 acre lots) from R1-7 zoning (minimum 7,000 sf lots).

For comparison, during the 2015 “Capella” Major General Plan Amendment, neighbors living on large lots along Shannon Road (adjacent to the west side of Capella) negotiated a 200 foot natural desert buffer between their homes and the Capella medium density residential development.

Conceptual Site Plan

My opinion
This rezoning would set a dangerous precedent. We’ve all witnessed that after a rural low density area gets rezoned down to 7,000-10,000 sf lots, it sets the stage for all the undeveloped land surrounding that parcel to also be rezoned down to tiny mass graded lots (with 2-story homes and connecting walls). The developer uses the first rezoned parcel to claim that the parcel next to it should also be rezoned down to 7,000 sf lots in order to be “compatible” with the first parcel. And on and on it goes until there are no rural areas left, roads are widened to four lanes, traffic lights are installed, and the wildlife disappears.

It bothers me that one entity – one landowner, can disrupt so many lives with their development plan, especially in an area that was originally zoned for rural low density. The town has frequently given more consideration to one landowner than to all of the surrounding neighbors that these plans will affect. It isn’t right. But it’s done because greed takes precedence over way of life. It also happens because decision makers see Oro Valley as a building project rather than as a community. In this case, the community is rural residential with unspoiled desert surroundings and solitude.

Town Planner Michael Spaeth stated, “It’s the applicant’s job to demonstrate that what they’re proposing improves upon what’s there today.” Does anyone believe that this plan is an improvement?

The neighbors are justifiably upset.

Editor’s Note: This will most likely be the last Neighborhood Meeting. The proposal will be presented to the Planning & Zoning Commission for a vote. If approved by P&Z, it will be sent to the Town Council for the final vote.

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Robert Peters is an Army veteran who served in Germany and South Korea. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Russian and Eastern European Studies and a Master’s degree in Business Management. He relocated from New England to Arizona in 2003 and was employed by Raytheon Missile Systems for 12 years, retiring in 2016 after 50 years in the workforce. He’s been active in dog rescue organizations for the past 20 years. He’s also an avid reader and history buff who has traveled extensively throughout the U.S., Europe and Russia. A former hippie, he attended the 1969 Woodstock Festival in Upstate New York.

Guest View: Robert Peters ~ Oro Valley is Nothing More Than a Profit Center for Developers

My wife and I recently attended an Oro Valley Neighborhood Meeting regarding the proposed annexation of a 321-acre parcel of State Trust Land on the NE corner of Tangerine and Thornydale.

Contrary to what your real estate agent may have told you when you agreed to pay a premium to live next to State Trust Land, this is not public land that will never be developed. It is land governed by the Arizona Constitution that can be sold at auction to the highest bidder for the economic benefit of “Trust Beneficiaries.” In this case, that beneficiary is the schools (K-12).

Oro Valley is proposing annexation of this land to prevent Marana or Pima County from doing the same. Their reasoning is that they would prefer to have control over how this land is eventually developed. For those of you who have been living here for many years, the notion of Oro Valley getting their hands on a large parcel of pristine desert is not a comforting thought.

Councilmember Solomon was more interested in his phone
The Neighborhood Meeting was packed. The following five councilmembers were in attendance: Mary Snider, Lou Waters, Bill Rodman, Rhonda Pina and Steve Solomon. It should be noted that Solomon spent most of the evening looking down while scrolling on his cell phone. This is not the first time we’ve observed him doing this during a Town meeting. This should give you some insight as to how much he cares about listening to his constituents.

Residents speak up
After the Town’s presentation, the Q&A session became quite heated. People were justifiably concerned about their property values, their privacy, and the impact to both flora and fauna. They were well-aware that recent land rezonings in our town have featured mass grading, tiny 7,000 square foot lots, and a mix of one and two story homes separated by the smallest setbacks allowable under building codes, leaving little room for indigenous desert plant species and wildlife.

Comments from the audience included the following [paraphrased]:

• They need to come up with a better plan to fund education other than destroying the desert.

• Why bother building wildlife tunnels when there will be no wildlife left to use them?

• First you sell the land to raise money for schools. Then developers build more homes on that land, thereby increasing the school population, which will then necessitate the selling off of more State Land to raise money for more schools. It’s a never-ending cycle of desert destruction.

• Since money is all this town cares about, we can all protest by not shopping in Oro Valley. Spend your money elsewhere.

• One woman began her speech by connecting the Town Council’s poor financial decision in purchasing the Community Center and Golf Courses as the reason why they don’t have any money for ball fields at Naranja Park which has led to a property tax proposal in order to fund them.  Regarding the annexation, she stated that you can expect them to mass grade this beautiful land in their never-ending quest for money. She ended her speech with, “We need to vote these [expletives] out of office!”

And that will give you some idea of the anger in that room that night.

Oro Valley Standards?
The Town’s Senior Planner, Roosevelt Arellano, explained why Oro Valley wants to annex this land:

“We want to assure a good design that’s compatible with Oro Valley standards; something that we’re used to in our community.”

And therein lies the problem, because for many years, what we have become “used to” with “Oro Valley standards” is wanton destruction of the desert with barren, bladed landscapes free of any living plant or animal with homes packed so closely together that you can look out your kitchen window and watch your neighbor’s television.

A Studied Observation
Having the retrospection of 14 years of experience attending these Neighborhood Meetings and working with town staff, land owners and developers, we have come to realize an all too familiar pattern. Going forward, this is what you can expect:

Step 1: The highest bidder
Unless someone who cares about preserving the land can come up with enough money to outbid them, the land will be sold to a wealthy land developer.

Step 2: Enter the usual suspects
Most or all of the following people/entities will be involved in the development of this parcel: The WLB Group, Greg Wexler, Mike Carlier, Meritage Homes.

Step 3: Neighborhood Meetings
Neighborhood Meetings will be held where the developer will attempt to convince the surrounding neighbors that their proposal is the best use for this land. (NOTE: Similar to how a car dealer does not give you his best price upfront, it has long been rumored that the initial development plan includes much more than what they actually want. This gives them room to negotiate when neighbors form a Citizens’ Group to protest the development).

Step 4: Divide and Conquer
The Town and the developer will then use a divide-and-conquer strategy to covey favor with certain members of the citizens’ group in order to lure them away from the larger and stronger group, thereby weakening the group. They may approach individuals to discuss plans and negotiate terms privately and/or elect Neighborhood Captains of their choosing to help win over support for the proposed development. They will usually single out the owners of the most expensive homes as well as those in the group that they believe will be the easiest to convince and manipulate.

Step 5: Full Speed Ahead
The developer will make a few concessions to the neighbors, most of which were never high on their priority list anyway. Then, despite any remaining protests, the developer (most likely the WLB Group) will convince the Town Council to rezone the land to the highest density possible, after which you can count on Meritage Homes to be “the chosen builder.” The land will be mass-graded to cram in their usual 5-6 homes per acre for a total of over 1,000 homes.

Conclusion
This, as always, will be an uphill battle as the Town’s number one job is to collect revenue and the higher the density, the more revenue they will collect from development impact fees. It will always be a war to protect our lush desert surroundings (or what’s left of it) when there is money to be made.

Robert Peters is an Army veteran who served in Germany and South Korea. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Russian and Eastern European Studies and a Master’s degree in Business Management. He relocated from New England to Arizona in 2003 and was employed by Raytheon Missile Systems for 12 years, retiring in 2016 after 50 years of working. He’s been active in dog rescue organizations for the past 20 years. He’s also an avid reader and history buff who has traveled extensively throughout the U.S., Europe and Russia. A former hippie, he attended the 1969 Woodstock Festival in Upstate New York.