Town Centre Area 4 rezoned last week
Last Thursday, LOVE reported that the Oro Valley Town Council unanimously voted to increase planned home density in Town Centre. The land (designated as "Area 4") is located directly across from Pusch View Lane, at Oracle Road. Council approval followed the unanimous approval by the town's Planning and Zoning Commission.
The land use for Area 4 was created in 2002. The land use remained the same. Every person, for the past 17 years, has had an expectation that the property would be developed as designated: Beautiful, large lot homes. This council with one vote changed all of that.
This chart compares the land use as it was zoned and as it was approved by council. By every measure, the approved zoning even further extends density of land:
- 12 more homes
- Much smaller lot sizes
- Less open space
- More grading
- Some lot fill as much as 13 feet
- A home closer to Oracle Rd
Residents of El Conquistador Patio Homes abut the property. They will lose their scenic views and use of this land, land which many had hoped would be donated by the Rooney Family. These residents have had no choice, over the years, but to try to mitigate the damage that this development will do to them and to their community.
According to town resident Tracey Smith, "What we soon won't have is natural desert scape and scenic corridors." She blames the town for this: "In fact, endless times the Oro Valley planners told me that they were responsible for increasing the density of this property. They told Rooney to go back to the drawing board and increase density. I, for one, have been heartbroken and feel betrayed by the town leadership desire to build high density housing in such a precious part of Oro Valley."
Years back, the Rooney Family, from Oklahoma, wintered in what would become Oro Valley. Their landholding was vast. John Rooney, son of the owner, attended Russell School. One resident, Ms. Whatley, speaking at the meeting (1:03 mark) grew up in Oro Valley. She worked for John Rooney's real estate attorney. Saddened by what is going to happen to the property, she spoke from the heart of Oro Valley's paradise lost. Her remarks are quite poignant. They appear in the box at left.
Winfield is responsible for this zoning change
It was clear at the March meeting that approval of this zoning change was split among the six council members. Mayor Winfield held the deciding vote. He did not call the vote. Instead he chose to table the measure; and, from the dais, to advise the developer of the things the developer had to do to assuage council concerns.
In doing that, Winfield backed himself and his fellow council members into a corner. They had no choice but to support the measure because, by last week, the developer had done so much more work in addressing their concerns.
"Is this everything I want this project to be?", Winfield stated at the meeting, "I would say no. But I believe that the applicant has made a genuine effort to address many of the concerns of the residents and concerns of this council. And, at this point, I would like to approve." (Meeting Video, time 2:14:00)
It seems to us that Winfield felt he had no option of voting "No" since he had taken the option of voting "No" off the table in March, when he actively worked to defer a decision and to then counsel the applicant.
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