Oro Valley Town Council Considers Three Major General Plan Amendments Tonight

Tonight, Oro Valley Town Council will hold a special session to consider 3 major general plan amendments.  We have discussed each of these in various postings as the requests proceeded from neighborhood meetings and to 2 Planning and Zoning Commission hearings.   Council is required to hear major general plan amendment requests by the end of the year in which they are requested. They are not required to decide, however.

The request are:

• NW corner of Tangerine and La Canada:  The request is to change the approved land use for  a portion of the property to medium density residential from rural or low density residential. (Olson Property)
• NW corner of Rancho Vistoso Boulevard and Vistoso Highlands Drive:  This is part of the Rancho Vistoso PAD. The request is to change the land use designation of the property from Commercial (C-1) to a Residential use. (Vistoso Highlands)
• North side of Moore Road between Yellow Orchid Drive and Mystic View Place. The request is to change the land use designation of the property from Low-Density Residential (LDR) to medium density residential. (Miller Ranch)

Approval of an amendment requires a 5-person council majority.

From Less To More Residential

All of these requests are to increase residential properties in Oro Valley. All are primarily being justified based on "current market demand."  Two of the three are being submitted by the same design firm. The applications are very similar.

How Will The Council Consider The General Plan

These 3 applications been vetted through a vetting process. There may be little "neighbor" opposition.  If there is, we should hear it tonight.

If there is little neighbor objection, one might conclude that approval of these amendments should be a "no brainer".   After all, the applicant has asserted that market demands it and the neighbors no longer oppose it.

However, approval of a major general plan amendment requires more than that.

There are 5 criteria that the council must consider when assessing a general plan amendment:

1. The proposed change is necessary because conditions in the community have changed to the extent that the plan requires amendment or modification.
2. The proposed change is sustainable by contributing to the socio-economic betterment of the community, while achieving community and environmental compatibility.
3. The proposed change reflects market demand which leads to viability and general community acceptance.
4. The amendment will not adversely impact the community as a whole, or a portion of the community without an acceptable means of mitigating these impacts through the subsequent zoning
5. The proposed cha change will conform to the Goals and Policies set forth in the General Plan development processes.

It is up to the council to weigh these criteria in forming their judgment on each requested amendment.
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