Monday, February 6, 2023

OVCN: A Negative Intrusion on the Neighborhood

David Dievert, a neighbor of the Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene (OVCN), spoke during the Call to Audience at the February 1 Oro Valley Town Council Meeting. 

David and his wife have lived across the street from the Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene for 26 years. They have joined with dozens of their neighbors in opposing OVCN’s plans to rezone the church property to accommodate a large sports complex.

According to Dievert, OVCN has had a significant negative impact on the community: “Over the years, the church has increasingly been a negative intrusion for the neighborhood -- with no positives.”

The church degraded the quality of life in the neighborhood

He pointed out that the church has “contributed significantly” to all of the current problems in the neighborhood:
• Increased traffic
• Decreased levels of safety for pedestrians and citizens
• Increased noise
• Light pollution
• Decreased residents' views
• Decreased wildlife and vegetation
• Heat island effect
• Decreased tax revenues for the Town
• Decreased quality of life for neighborhood residents

Dievert then asked, “Has the church contributed anything positive to the neighborhood residents?” He opined that the answer in this case was "NO".

Quoting from Scripture
“The bottom line is that this area was a residential and agricultural neighborhood for many years before intrusion of Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene which actually started in 1986. For the church leadership to try to impose more damage to the neighborhood with their proposed rezoning and construction is not in accordance with Scripture which says, 'Do not plan evil against your neighbor who dwells trustingly beside you.'

Stop the damage to the neighborhood by stopping the rezoning and further construction.”
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At tomorrow evening’s Planning and Zoning Commission hearing at 6 PM in Town Council chambers, the Commission will vote to recommend or deny the OVCN rezoning proposal. This will be followed by a two public hearings before the town council and the a vote of that Town Council after that second hearing.
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