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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