Editorial: Whose Town Is This Anyway?

A pattern of questionable behavior

There is a pattern of behavior that has emerged in our town over the past year that, for some, begs the question: “Whose Town Is This Anyway?” Is it the town council’s town? Is it town staff’s town? Or is it the resident's town?

Last week and in several prior weeks we have posted facts regarding events that have happened that raise this question. We will reference them here so that you can consider what it all means.

Bad Behavior Toward Constituents
We’ve posted regarding three situations where the town has so rankled residents or their representatives that they have sent scathing letters to the Mayor.

Last Monday, we reported some Rancho Vistoso residents are asking that the town fire Town Manager Mary Jacobs because of her behavior regarding negotiations to purchase the former Vistoso Golf Course. According to those who have worked tirelessly for three years to make this so, Jacobs has excluded the key element of the purchase, The Conservation Fund, from discussions. Apparently, she has done so in a dismissive manner. These residents have been left out of any discussions when they were the ones who brought the solution to the town.

Then Wednesday, a guest view discussed the dismissive treatment that that town accorded the Oro Valley Historical Society. The society are supposed to be partners in discussions regarding the future of Steam Pump Ranch. They too have been ignored, as we reported in November.

Finally, there is the “resignation” statement that Ford of The Conservation Fund ("TCF") released. We posted their statement Friday. TCF is the source of funding for the purchase. They’ve been left out. They know how to do these deals. They, like the residents of Vistoso, have been dismissed by the town.    

Town Manager has made mistakes that have caused problems

As we wrote in February, inaction a year ago caused the crisis regarding the Pusch Ridge Course.  Town Manager Jacobs knew in April that HSL was not going to lease the course. She did not tell the council this until September.  By then, the course was closed and residents in the area were left out of discussions. It was only their concerted effort that got action.

As we wrote in December, Jacobs failed to post a critical public hearing on a general plan amendment. This resulted in a hurriedly scheduled public hearing on December 30, when no one was paying attention. That hearing only happened because LOVE noticed the town that they were required by law to hold a public hearing before year end.

Temporary taxes that have an eternal life 

The town has failed to reduce taxes that were supposed to be temporary.  The most recent is the half cent sales tax to pay for golf. We posted a visual on this this past Tuesday. This half cent sales tax is "Golfs' Eternal Flame." It was supposed to go away within five years. At that time, golf was projected to be self sufficient.  It isn't. The tax is still there. 

We've not forgotten a second tax that was supposed to be temporary. That's the 2 percent the Hiremath Council added to the utility tax.  Hiremath, in a classic 'sleight of hand', claimed it was needed to pay for four police positions. It was only going to be temporary. That was eleven years ago. 

Behind closed door meeting
One of our readers spoke to us regarding what seems to be an extraordinary number of executive sessions that council holds. The town has held so many executive sessions that Mayor Winfield asked Town Manager Jacobs to post a notice on the state's guidelines for holding these meeting. This notice is in regards to the former Vistoso Golf Course land purchase.

All of this when considered together does make one wonder. Whose town is this anyway?

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Bits and Pieces

Marana Town Manager Get’s $200K. Will Oro Valley’s Town Manager Jacobs be left behind?
Marana’s former police chief, Terry Rozema, is now the town’s new town manager. He is getting $200,000 in his new job. This plus perks like a car and nice benefits. (Source: Arizona Daily Star) Oro Valley’s Town Manager Jacobs currently earns less. Will she be left behind?

Did you know that the town already borrowed for the “turnkey” community center?
Former Mayor Hiremath assured us that the clubhouse at the purchased El Conquistador County Club was “turnkey”. As it turned out, it was far from that. The 2021 Parks and Recreation Plan has funds recommended for inclusion to fix up the place. Bet you did not know, however, that the town issued a bond for $2,000,000 in late 2016 to pay for energy improvements. The bonds have a 15 year life.

Reconsideration of Kai-Capri General Plan Amendment avoided need for public hearings
The “original” council discussions of the Kai-Capri amendment required notice of public hearing. According to the town, the reconsideration that happened last week did not require public notice. As such, except for LOVE and the site Takebackov.com, the general public didn’t even know there was further consideration of the amendment. The Mayor did take public comment but the meeting was dominated by speakers garnered by the applicant and the Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce. This, once again, gave the Mayor a false impression that the public did not care about this amendment. The amendment failed to be approved. But, we guarantee, it will be back in some form in the next year or two

PAC "Oro Valley Strong" financed by current and former town council members
A current and former Oro Valley council members are funding a PAC called "Oro Valley Strong".  The PAC has raised more than $3,000. Contributors include: 

• Council Member Mo Greene ($1,020.80 from his 2020 campaign 
• Former Council Member Joe Hornat ($250) 
• Former Council Member Bill Rodman ($250) 
• Former Council Member Dick Johnson ($250) 

Several other contributors are Oro Valley residents who are always disparaging current council leadership and new member Bohen. Expect them to position candidates for 2022. That is their prerogative. The PAC was founded by Oro Valley resident Don Cox. A recent PAC organization filing shows that Oro Valley resident Tom Plantz is now the chairperson. Cox is a former member of the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The group Preserve Vistoso encourages all to voice support for a future preserve to council
The group Preserve Vistoso is recommending residents to speak during the “call to audience” section of Oro Valley Town Council meetings. The hope is that they will voice their support of the town’s sought purchase of the former Vistoso Golf course. Things to discuss could be the willingness of the Vistoso’ community to financially participate in the purchase; as well as their support of some the the annual maintenance cost of what will be a natural park preserve.

Town seeking applicant for stormwater commission

The town is seeking an applicant for one position on the stormwater commission.  Applicants must be residents of the Town of Oro Valley. The open position is a two-year term. 

"The SWUC makes recommendations to the Town Council on issues relating to flood control, stormwater quality management, the issuance of bonds for stormwater activities and the prescription of service charges. The SWUC meets on the third Thursday of the month at 4 p.m. Due to COVID-19, meetings are currently being held online via Zoom. 

Residents who are interested in applying for this position can contact the Town Clerk’s Office at 520-229-4700 or apply online by visiting the Boards and Commissions Opportunities webpage. (Source)

Wish us luck...

We're getting our second Covid-19 vaccine shot today. We heard that some have reaction to it. Our hope is that we won't and that, in two weeks, we'll have significant protection against this blight. Have you got your shots yet?

Kai General Plan Amendment Not Approved By Council... Barrett, Nicolson and Bohen Hold Fast

Barrett, Bohen and Nicolson hold fast to reject changing the general plan 

The Kai-Capri general plan amendment did not receive the required five Oro Valley Town Council for approval at last night’s town council meeting. 

This despite a herculean effort on the part of town staff and the applicant to get approval. This included a "sleight of hand" move in which the staff and applicant changed the request such  that the property would be used for only rental casitas. 

Three council members held fast to their initial vote on January 6 rejecting this measure. They were Vice Mayor Barrett and Council Members Bohen and Nicolson. Barrett repeated what she had said at the January 6 meeting. Essentially, six months ago the town had approved significant economic development moves to improve commerce in the area and that time needed to pass for these to take effect.

Winfield enthusiastically supported changing the plan 

Mayor Winfield and Council Member’s Solomon and Greene voted to approve as they had done in January. In fact, Mayor Winfield “doubled-down” on his support. He noted that he and his family had “recreated” on this property and that “the highest and best use of this property was residential.”

Jones-Ivey approves... 

In January,  Council Member Jones-Ivey voted to reject the amendment. This time she voted to approve the measure. She liked the idea of putting rental casitas on the property.  

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Kai Gets Fourth "Bite at the Apple" Tonight

It is deja-vu all over again

Tonight's hearing on the proposed Kai-Capri General Plan Amendment is the fourth time that the Oro Valley Town Council will consider it. This is definitely a record. 

The first time was in December. The amendment was presented by town staff and the applicant. Then, when was time for the public comment, the town manager reported that she had failed to publish the notice of public comment. There was not public hearing.

The amendment was deferred until January 6 for public hearing and council decision.

However, as LOVE reported at that time, the town was required by State Law to have the general plan hearing in the same calendar year as the year in which the amendment request was filed. So, the town, on very short notice, held a public hearing on December 30. Yes. Right in the middle of holiday week. Needless to say, there was sparse public comment.

The third time the matter came before council  was when it was heard and voted down, 4-3, by town council on January 6.  Finally, it was over.

...Because applicant feels they were "misunderstood"

But wait.

That was not the end however.  Council Member Jones-Ivey asked that the item be reconsidered because she had been told by the applicant that there had been a misunderstanding. What could possibly be misunderstood. The amendment had been vetted in two public hearings, by the town's Planning and Zoning Commission in two public hearings, and by council on two occasions.

Jones-Ivey had voted against it. She felt, however, that Kai Family, who have been around our town for a long time, deserved the chance to explain the "misunderstanding."  She failed mention or perhaps she does not know that the Kai's don't live in Oro Valley. They live in Marana. 

In late January, council voted 4-3 to rehear it.  The rehearing is tonight.

...So Kai got more time to work the system

This time delay has given Paul Oland, representative of the property owner Kai Family, and the family itself time to work the process.  This is clever on their part and on the part of town staff who are in favor of the amendment. 

Crafting a new request for approval of one, and not five concepts...

Bur wait. There is more. The applicant has reduced their original request for approval of five property use concepts. They are now proposing one: Rental Casitas.  This is actually not a rehearing of the amendment request, it is a hearing of a new request.  Thus, there should be a new application.

Council approval requires five"yes" votes

The amendment requires five votes. It is hard for us to imagine that Vice Mayor Barrett and council members Bohen and Nicolson will vote for it because there is no flaw in the logic they presented when they voted against it on January 6.  Thus, there can not be five affirmative votes.

We know that Council Members Solomon and Greene will vote for it as will Mayor Winfield.  They voted for it last time.

Which leaves Jones-Ivey. 

She told us why she voted against it. 

• First, the existing land use provides a key alternative commercial site and should remain such. 
• Second, the argument that the town needs more rooftops to support retail has not worked out over time

Near as we can tell, thing's haven't changed.

We wonder if Jones-Ivey will waste the equity she has with her constituents, the ones who voted her in. They clearly told her that they want to slow down the insane level of growth caused by approvals of general plan and zoning changes by the Hiremath council. 

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Guest View: Diane Peters ~ The Best Laid Plans?

During January 6th Public Hearing for the First and Tangerine General Plan Amendment (GPA) to allow multi-family residential zoning on a vacant commercial parcel, one resident (we’ll call him Mr. Double Standard) gave the following reasons for why the town council should approve the GPA. He said:

"I want to point out the fiscal benefits of this development. This is a fiscal no-brainer for the Town of Oro Valley: The construction sales tax, the residents supporting the water utility, the long-term sales tax benefits, the state-shared revenue.

I have said to many people that one of the reasons that Oro Valley Marketplace looks the way it does today...is the way this land looks right now. It's vacant. The land to the west of the marketplace is vacant. The land to the north of the marketplace is vacant. The land to the east of the marketplace is vacant. All of these have a very negative impact on Oro Valley Marketplace.

And as we look for that area of develop, this will be a great benefit. We've seen Big Lots close...Cost Plus...Dick's Sporting Goods. And you can relate that to the fact that the residential density close to the Oro Valley Marketplace is very low."

Let’s review his arguments.

Vacant land has a negative impact on business
Mr. Double Standard claims that the vacant land to the west, north, and east of Oro Valley Marketplace is the reason that The Marketplace never did well and is the reason that Big Lots, Cost Plus (World Market), and Dick’s Sporting Goods closed. Then why is the Wal-Mart at Oro Valley Marketplace still open when they have the same amount of nearby residents? Why did Sears at Tucson Mall close? They didn’t have enough nearby residents?

Vestar, the original developer and owner of Oro Valley Marketplace, had population and demographic studies done prior to pitching their Anywhere USA mall. They had the stats for how many people lived within X number of miles from that location and they projected that it would all work out beautifully – but now we are told that The Marketplace failed because they didn't have enough homes in that location.

Is Mr. Double Standard saying that Vestar's projections and population and demographic studies were wrong? Were they fabricated or slanted to show what Vestar needed them to show in order to get the town to sign on to the deal? If so, this might be a lesson not to trust the projections and population and demographic studies of other developers when they’re pitching their grandiose plans to the town.

Arguing with himself
When Vestar was pitching their mall, Mr. Double Standard was strongly in favor of it. He never spoke in opposition to it or claimed that it would fail because the land to the west, north, and east was vacant.

The pro-development crowd simply alters their arguments to suit their whims of the day. His current arguments are all just excuses to keep the Hiremath pro-growth agenda going.

Taxes and Water Utility Arguments
• The construction sales tax is not a recurring tax, it is a one-time tax.

• Stating that more residents will support the Oro Valley Water Utility overlooks the fact that Arizona is in an extreme drought, but yes, let’s keep bringing in more people to use more water.

In fact, according to the applicant’s (Paul Oland, Paradigm Land Design) GPA submittal narrative: “With a maximum of 167 housing units proposed, the maximum number of new residents expected to live onsite would be 392” and would “typically demand approximately 50,100 gallons of potable water per day.” Oland also admitted that keeping the existing C-1 zoning “would equate to a typical water demand of approximately 17,600 gallons per day.”

Mr. Double Standard said that approving the GPA was “a fiscal no-brainer.” One could argue that choosing to use 17,000 gallons of water a day vs. 50,000 gallons a day during a drought is an “environmental no-brainer.”

• Long-term sales tax benefits? That’s the same sales pitch we heard from Vestar when they were selling the town on the benefits of Oro Valley Marketplace, and yet half of the storefronts at OVM remained empty for the entire ten years that Vestar owned that mall (2008-2018).

What’s the perfect ratio?
So when does the growth end? What is the perfect ratio of businesses to population? Does anyone really know? Because no matter how many of each we have, I keep hearing that we need more people to support our businesses and we need more businesses to bring in sales tax dollars.

You know what else we need? We need open space (green space), healthy air, less traffic congestion, peace and quiet, and we need to protect the Sonoran desert and the wildlife who call it home.

Business saturation
I don’t recall any empty storefronts when I moved here in 2003. Our population has increased by approximately 15,000 since then, yet we now have an abundance of empty storefronts. This begs the question: Is increasing the population really the answer? Or do we have too many duplicate businesses? As an example, a quick internet search revealed approximately 20 nail salons in Oro Valley. How about three identical mattress stores at one intersection!  (One has since closed.  Gee, I wonder why).

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Diane Peters has lived in Oro Valley since 2003, moving here to escape the humidity of the East Coast. She’s been involved in OV politics and development issues since 2006. In 2014, she organized a citizens group, who over a 9-month period, successfully negotiated a controversial 200-acre development project. In her past life, she worked in medical research at various University Hospitals in New England. Her interests include reading, writing, nature photography, travel, art galleries, museums, and politics.

Kai Amendment Request Gets New Life

Jones-Ivey tips the scale

The Oro Valley Town Council voted 4-3 last night to reconsider the Kai-Capri General Plan Amendment. Council Member Joyce Jones-Ivey joined the three who had voted to approve the amendment in approving the motion. She have voted against the amendment at the January 6 meeting. The amendment will be heard on February 3.

Jones-Ivey: Kai Family feels there were misunderstandings

Jones-Ivey had requested that the item be reconsidered after being approached by the applicant. She said that the person who approached her " was very concerned about the fact that there was he felt misinformation or misunderstood. He wanted an opportunity to come back and have his concerns addressed."

Jones-Ivey blames possible "misunderstandings" on Zoom meeting format

She continued: "I really would like to see this happen for them. The Kai Family has been in the community for years and they have also been developing here for quite a few years and because we are using Zoom to communicate sometimes I believe there is a lot of lost communication that goes on that could have possibly contributed to the misunderstanding that they would like to have clarified. So, for that reason, I would like to have this reconsideration considered and passed by council. We can have them back and listen to their concerns.”

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Source: Oro Valley Town Council Meeting, January 20. 2021, Time 1:58:40

Jones-Ivey Asks Council to Reconsider Kai-Capri General Plan Amendment... After Rejecting It

Jones-Ivey asks town to reconsider   

Council Members Joyce Jones-Ivey and Mo Greene have asked the town council to reconsider its rejection of the Kai-Capri amendment. The reconsideration will be discussed tonight.

Sponsoring reconsideration does not mean that Jones-Ivey supports that this general plan amendment.  Rather, it may mean that she is offering support to a fellow council member who wants the motioned reheard.  A reconsideration requires one council member who voted against the plan to sponsor reconsideration.

The following are the two reasons Jones-Ivey voted against the amendment at the January 6 meeting.

Voted "No"for two reasons

Council Member Joyce Jones-Ivey voted “no” on the Kai-Capri general plan amendment at the January 6 council meeting. She joined Council Members Barrett, Bohan, and Nicolson in rejecting the amendment. You can read their remarks here. Jones-Ivey did not say why she voted "no" at that time. So we asked her. There were two reasons.

First, the existing land use provides a key alternative commercial site and should remain such

Jones-Ivey has been looking at the property for a long time. She considered its present land use when the council made changes to encourage economic development.  “I was looking a commercial properties and cataloguing in my mind what could be possible.” The Kai-Capri property “...was right on the top of my brain, mainly because of where it was located.” She concluded that is was properly zoned for neighborhood commercial given its easy access to Oracle, via First Avenue; and access on the newly widened Tangerine Road.

“If we are going to attract employers we are going to need some different locations for them to be able to look at.” In addition, Jones-Ivey noted, the property as zoned will be less disturbing to the habitat. “Leaving it as is just made sense.”

Second, the argument that the town needs more rooftops to support retail has not worked out over time

Jones-Ivey never thought that the amendment request, which changed over time, would come back to request housing on the property.

This presented a new challenge. 

“My other issue” became the high density of the land use.” The residential options the amendment sought ranged from single family housing to apartments. (Panel above). “That just seemed to be a repeat of the previous council’s position of ‘rooftops...rooftops...rooftops'. It just didn’t seem to address the issue of bringing in additional revenues.”

During her deliberations, Jones-Ivey spoke with Oro Valley Planning Director Bayer Vella. Vella emphasized that apartments bring in additional revenues. She wondered though: What kind? Reflecting on the result of the “rooftops strategy” she concluded that significant new primary employer jobs did not happen from more rooftops. Rather, Oro Valley got more eateries. “More eateries is nothing substantial in my mind. How many eateries can we have?"

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Bits and Pieces

Greene is a “rubber stamp” kind of guy
Council Member Mo Greene said that land use decisions are above his pay grade. He was charged with the task of deciding whether the land use of the Kai-Capri property should changed from commercial to residential at last week’s council meeting. 

Greene said that he has not gone over the land use. He has listened to the presentation of people who are much smarter [than he is] in land use and the needs of Oro Valley so he is going to approve the land use change. 

It’s going to be a long four years with this guy on council. 

Town employees (including cops) gets pay raise

Also at last week’s council meeting, the town council unanimously approved a 3% pay increase for all employees. This is a reinstatement of the annual wage increase the town deferred in June because of financial uncertainty caused by the pandemic. Town Manager Jacobs told the council that the town can afford it and that, because there are vacant positions, the increase will have no impact on the budget for the year. The increase takes effect this month. It does not include council members. The town manager will recommend another 3% increase starting in July.

Abraham: Reclaimed water rate should provide incentive for use... that is current town policy

The town's reclaimed water rate is based on the cost of providing reclaimed water. However, the cost does not include 79% of the debt service cost incurred in building the reclaimed water system. According to town water Director Peter Abraham, reclaimed water would be more expensive than potable water if the the total debt service were included in the reclaimed water rate. This would provide a disincentive if the were set at this level. Town policy is to set the reclaimed water rate at the cost of service, but not more than the potable rate. Town staff and the towns' water commission are recommending to council that this policy remain.

FYI: Reclaimed water us is about 2,000 acre feet per year. The town buys reclaimed water from the Tucson.,The town is currently using all of its reclaimed water entitlement though "...we lost eight holes of golf".

(Source), 57 minutes)

Barrett, Bohen, Nicolson "Shine" in Championing The General Plan

Clear support for the general plan

Vice Mayor Melanie Barrett, Council Members Tim Bohen and Josh Nicolson provided clear and unwavering support of the "Your Voice, Our Future" General Plan during last week's hearing of the Kai-Capri General Plan Amendment. They voted "No" together with Council Members Jones-Ivey. (Mayor Winfield voted "Yes".)

Barrett did her homework
Vice Mayor Barrett relies on her own analysis and not town staff to made decisions on the part of the residents. As a result, she concluded that the land use of this property should remain neighborhood commercial. She proffered five arguments in support.

There is already much land in the area zoned for residential use, land that has yet to be used

The argument that the town needs more residential property in the area of First and Tangerine to support retail located in the area has been used numerous times to justify converting commercially zoned property to residential. In fact, the prior council approved a number of commercial to retail zoning changes that are reasonably near First Avenue and Tangerine, properties that do not yet have residencies. These include Nakoma Sky (behind Home Depot); property at Rancho Vistoso and Vistoso Highlands Drive, property on the corner of LaCanada and Moore Road; and BigWash. To add yet another property before seeing the impact of these on retail in the area makes no sense. The town needs to first see how these other areas “play out”.

There are long term financial impacts on town spending to be considered

The town needs to move carefully, according to Barrett. There are long term financial impacts on town spending to be considered. She reminded the council of a study they had commissioned that noted that “The cost of municipal services is generally less for non residential development than for residential development.” Commercial haas more of an impact on the town.

Impact of recent land use changes to improve primary employment in area need time to bear fruit

Barrett also wants to see the impact of recent changes approved by this council before making yet another decision to rezone the Kai-Capri property. “We have spent a lot of the past two years... to expand property for primary employment.. Just a few months ago we passed a zoning code that would expand the allowable uses on this property... to allow it to be used for primary employment. Let’s see if this works before we consider rezoning for a different use.”

According to Barrett, the town had only 188 acres available for primary employment land before this change. Oro Valley already has a significant deficit in primary employment land compared to other towns (Marana). A town study said Oro Valley needed 300 acres to meet its ten year primary employee goal. Changing the zoning on the Kai-Capri property reduces primary employment land.

Amendment goes against some key general plan goals

“To me, there are goals in the general plan”.. that matter to her that the change proposed does not enrich. This property as currently zoned enhances some of the key challenges of meeting the general plan including the achieving the goals of improving long term financial and economic sustainability of the community, providing robust job opportunity for quality employment, minimizing traffic and maintaining a small town feel

Property, as zone, provides ideal commercial space

Her conclusion was that the Kai-Capri property as currently zoned provides for ideal commercial space. It is next to other commercial property. It’s close to “shovel ready.” The corner of First and Tangerine is one of the. last spaces in Oro Valley that provide significant commercial use opportunity.

Listen to her remarks in the panel above.

Nicolson presents two reasons he voted "no" 

Council Member Nicolson observed that proponents saying that there is not enough people living in the area of First and Tangerine fail to consider the enormous amount of discretionary spending just north of the area. He reiterated his commitment to supporting what he believes residents want (See panel left)

Bohen, likewise, did his homework
New Council Member Tim Bohen observed that the town has already done much since 2015 to make this area commercially feasible such as approving the Silverhawk development, the expansion of commercial land use to enable primary employment, the widening of Tangerine Road to provide better access to the area and marketing activities on the part of the town to let people know properties such as this are available for construction.

He concluded: “We are only three years into this ten year general plan.” This request “... does not rise to the threshold required for a change to the general plan. I respect the work that was done. I respect following the process.” 

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Winfield "Changed Position" By Voting Yes On The Kai Capri General Plan Amendment

Fails to seize his role to represent the views of the residents
Three Oro Valley Town Council members voted in favor of the Kai-Capri General Plan Amendment ("GPA") last week. One of them was Mayor Winfield.

That amendment would have allowed residential use on a commercial property. Last week, in a LOVE editorial, we discussed why we opposed the amendment. 

Thinks area needs more residents to support local business

Mayor Winfield supported the measure because he sees a need for more residents living in the area to support the businesses there. He concluded this after touring the area with the Director of the Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce, Dave Perry.  

Winfield believed that residents wanted this amendment to pass

Winfield "...was surprised by the low level of public participation. There certainly wasn’t any significant opposition to this effort as so I can only interpret that as being that there was community support. I would have liked to have seen for those that are opposing this to join us in this journey earlier in the process,” because town staff and others spent a lot of time on this.  

The Mayor has his facts wrong

Our fact check revealed that opposition was expressed by residents early in the process (source). There were 23 pages of comments as of September 15. All but four speak in opposition to the plan. We also know that there were many emails in opposition that were sent to council after September 15. 

Reneges on an election pledge

At the meeting, Winfield stated that the General Plan as something that can be changed. “Plans are not static. Plans are dynamic. Things change.” He believes that it was the intent of those who created the plan that details, such as land use, be determined by the GPA process.    

Winfield's view of the role of the General Plan is opposite of what he told us when he was running for council in 2018. Then, he said that one of his goals was to "...champion the General Plan." He also told us at that time that he was opposed to never-ending General Plan Amendments, rezoning approvals and the hyper-growth rate the town was experiencing. 

Trusts that staff to uphold the General Plan

As to upholding the will of the people as shown in the General Plan: “There’s no one who upholds the General Plan more than our staff does. And I want to applaud them for making our General Plan a priority.”

You can listen to Winfield's complete remarks in the panel at above right.

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Tomorrow, read and listen to the measured remarks of Vice Mayor Barrett as well as the remarks of Council Members Bohen and Nicolson in opposition to this GPA.

Council Rejects Kai-Capri General Plan Amendment

A 4-3 vote

The The Oro Valley Town Council voted 4-3 to reject the proposed Kai-Capri General Plan Amendment. 

Mayor Winfield and Council Members Greene and Solomon voted to approve the motion. The amendment had be tailored by town staff to require a four vote approval for passage. 

More to follow in a subsequent article.

Publisher's View: Say "No" To The Kai-Capri General Plan Amendment

The same old story...

We’ve seen a “ton” of general plan amendment requests during our 27 years of living in Oro Valley. Almost every request has passed. Almost every request was justified based on two factors: An increase in economic activity and the need for a change based on the petitioner’s perception of market demand.

Once again

Tonight, the Oro Valley Town Council will consider and then vote on the proposed Kai-Capri General Plan Amendment, an amendment that will convert commercial property to residential property. The request is being justified using the same old basis: The change will bring more people to Oro Valley and, thus, will add to economic activity; and the market really does want apartments, or casitas, or small homes or whatever the developer wants to put on the property… but not that for which it is planned and zoned… commercial use.

 

Failed "rooftops strategy"

Yes. More people do mean more economic activity. Yes. They will generate more sales and utility tax revenue for the town. But at what cost? More rooftops do not add to quality job growth. More rooftops do not bring the kind of high quality businesses the town wants. More rooftops do not add to our "small town feel."

That was why former Mayor Hiremath's “rooftops strategy” failed. Instead of attracting quality employers, more rooftops lead to more traffic on Oracle Road as people commuted to work. Retailers like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Big 5 closed up shop. Empty storefronts remained empty. Many still are empty. Just look at the Oro Valley Marketplace. All this happened while town population grew 10%. No. A bigger population is not going to save stores like World Market that are going to die anyway.

Market demand is always shifting back and forth

The second argument, a shift in market demand, is equally specious. The real estate market is always shifting. Residential is hot today because people are nesting in place due to the pandemic. Commercial is not hot because “people are nesting in place due to the pandemic.” A year from now it could all turnaround. And it likely will.

Two controls residents have over what happens in Oro Valley. 

One is the General Plan.

The General Plan is the vision of what residents want the town to be. The town spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to create it. Residents spent a million combined hours working on it. It took two years. It was overwhelmingly approved by the vote of the people in 2016. That plan includes a land use map that specifies how each area of the town will be used. The Kai-Capri property is designated for “commercial use.” It is ideal for commercial use. Unless there is some egregious error in this land designation, and there is not , there is no pressing need, no council imperative to turn over the will of the people.

The other is who residents elect to council

There is only one other way residents can control the future of the town. That way is by electing people to council who will uphold the general plan, protecting the wishes of the people as expressed in that plan. The residents elected those people in 2018, tossing out a Hiremath led majority that never rejected a general plan amendment. That council’s behavior was outrageous. That council approved two general plan amendments to the current general plan before the State ratified the election approval vote. To them, the general plan was merely a guide to be ignored as they wished. And they did ignore the plan countless times.

The will of the people as expressed in the general plan should over ride the will of a developer and town staff

It does not matter that town staff thinks that the plan should be approved because they think that it satisfies the five criteria for general plan amendment approval. That is their judgment. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to the five criteria. A handful of unelected town staff members and a landowner should not be allowed to overrule the will of the people. The new majority, led by Mayor Winfield, and newly elected council person Tim Bohen, promised to uphold the general plan. We expect them to do that tonight by rejecting the Kai-Capri request. It is the right thing for them to do. 

Our message to council: Just say “No”.

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Kai First Ave and Tangerine Public Hearing Tonight

The Oro Valley Town Council is holding a special session tonight. The session is for a public hearing on the general plan amendment for the property located on the southwest corner of Tangerine and First Avenue. We have previously reported on it.

"Because this item was previously continued on December 2, 2020 by the Town Council to its January 6, 2021 meeting, no action may be taken. The only purpose of this item is to provide a presentation and hold a public hearing as an additional opportunity for resident comment that ensures the Town meets the state requirement for hearing all Type I General Plan Amendments within the same calendar year submitted. “\" (Source)

This link provides information on how to join this meeting.

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1st and Tangerine General Plan Public Hearing On December 30

A previously unschedule meeting that must be held

The town council will hold a Zoom session on December 30 at 5pm to discuss and take possible action on the 1st Avenue and Tangerine Road General Plan Amendment.

The council failed to hold this hearing at its December 2 meeting because Town Manager Jacobs failed to post the public hearing notice. The council voted to defer the hearing until January 6. As LOVE noted at that time, this violated state law requirements that the council hold the hearing with the calendar year of the request. Thus, the need for the hearing on the 30th.

The council does not need to make a decision on the 30th. Council can continue its decision until the planned January 6 hearing.

Town needs to fix meeting link

The town will need to correct the link to the meeting. The link is to the "meetings and agenda" page. That page does not show the December 30 council meeting.  

Another landowner money maker

Like all general plan amendments, this one stands to make the Kai family millions. They seek to change the general plan designation on this property from commercial to residential. As we’ve reported, they have submitted five plans: Apartments; Rental Casitas; Senior Care; Townhomes; and Single Family Residential.

These will substantially increase property density. They are attempting to justify this based on “market demand.”

The family has already benefitted greatly from the generosity of the Hiremath majority, with land use change and rezoning of acres south of the lot for the Silverhawk development.

You can learn more about the requested amendment here.

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Town Manager Error Causes Delay In Kai Amendment Decision. Possible Legal Violation

Failure to post public hearing notice

The Oro Valley Town council voted to continue the hearing on the Kai General Plan amendment to the January 6th meeting. Oro Valley Town Manager Mary Jacobs failed to post notice of public hearing on the amendment. 

A public hearing on a general plan amendment is required before the council can vote. Jacobs had posted public hearing notice for the rezoning that would have been required if the council approved the general plan amendment; but she did not post public hearing notice for the general plan amendment. This notice of public hearing is published as part of the agenda. (See Agenda Item 2)

Mayor Winfield attempted to shoulder responsibility for this mistake by noting that he is responsible for setting the agenda. 

The legal violation is that the town is required by state statute to hear a general plan amendment before year end. They can make the decision after year end but they must hear it by year end. A hearing on January 6. 2021 does not meet this statutory requirement.

Council assignments approved

The Council approved the council liaison to commission assignments. The assignments are shown in yesterday's LOVE posting.

Barrett to serve second term as Vice-Mayor

The council approved Council Member Melanie Barrett as Vice Mayor for a second term. The vote was 5-1. Council Member Solomon voted "no". Council Member Jones-Ivey was absent.
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Tonight's A Busy Night For Council

Tonight, the Oro Valley Town Council will consider four important items: A staff update on the implementation of the 2016 Your Voice Our Future General Plan; discussion and approval of town board and commission council liaison assignments; the election of the Vice Mayor for 2021; and consideration of the Kai General Plan Amendment. Here's a peak at what is in store.

General Plan Update: 71% of implementation tasks completed

The Town Manager is required to provide an annual progress report on the progress on general plan action items.  There are 310 action items in the plan.  Town Manager Jacobs will report that the town has accomplished 71% of these, either as separate tasks or through ongoing operations. Approximately 75% of the remaining tasks are in progress. 

Proposed board and commission liaison assignments present little change

The proposed council liaison assignments are shown in the panel at right. There are two changes. New members Bohen and Green will replace the assignments of prior members Pina and Rodman, respectively. Bohen will liaison with the Water Commission. Greene will liaison with the Stormwater Utility Commission.

Vice Mayor Selection

The Vice Mayor serves in the role of Mayor when the Mayor is absent.  Melanie Barrett is the current Vice Mayor. We suspect no change here.

"Silverhawke" General Plan Amendment and Rezoning

The town is required to hear general plan amendments by year end. There is one this year. We previously reported on a proposed general plan amendment for the property that in north of and abuts the Silverhawke Development.  It is bounded by Tangerine and First Avenue. 

This property is owned by the Kai Family. They contributed $3,500 to Council Member Solomon's campaign this year.   

Since the first public hearing in October, the applicant revised their request such that approval of the amendment will only require a simple council majority, and not a super, five-vote, majority. 

The applicant is presenting five land use options (shown above, left panel) for the land use rezoning request. This request will only be viable if the council approves the general plan amendment. Council approval of the zoning request will give the landowner the right to pick from any of these options without future council review. 

You can read the details of this proposed amending and the accompanying rezonig here.

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Oland: Town Needs More Rooftops

Kai Amendment justification: Oro Valley needs more rooftops
The narrative that “more rooftops” are needed to justify more retail presence continued as the justification for approving a general plan amendment. This is an amendment of a commercial parcel located near the first avenue and Tangerine Intersection. We call this the Kai Property because it, like the entire Silverhawke area, is owned by the Kai family.

The justification was stated a last week's zoom.us public meeting by Paul Oland of Paradigm Land Design, the land engineering company representing the owner.

Request at odds with town's "economic development strategy"
The owner is presenting this general plan amendment to reduce commercial land at a time when the town's economic development strategy is to increase commercial land and to speed its development.

There are many uses for commercial property other than the neighborhood shopping center that the developer presented in 2015, when the entire Silvehawke land mass was amended. The property could be used for a variety of non retail commercial needs as currently zoned. Some of these could be very specific to the area such as medical offices or a workout facility.

Lots of rooftops proposed
This latest proposal shows a road connecting First Avenue and Tangerine Road.  As for the land use, Oland presented five alternatives, none of which are binding if and when the amendment is approved:

• 10 apartments, 2-stories each, a gated community
• 100 plus 1-story casitas with a tiny recreation area
• Senior care facility and independent senior living housing
• A  cluster of townhomes
• 55 single family homes like Silverhawk

Terrain has not changed since 2015 amendment

Tim Bohen: "What's really happened since 2015 to require this amendment?"

There were two audience questions.  Oro Valley Town Council candidate Tim Bohen referred to the slide at right. The slide highlights the area north of the property. Its hilly nature, according to Oland, blocked the line of sight  from Tangerine Rd, making the property unsuitable for retail use.

Bohen had asked what has happened between 2015 and today to cause the need for a change in land use. After all, the terrain was the same in 2015 as it is today.  Oland did not respond directly to that question. Rather, he repeated his assertion that Oro Valley needs more rooftops. 

The second question from an attendee was about Kai Drive being connected to Tangerine Road. Could a traffic-safe connection to Tangerine Road be made? Town Engineer Keesler said that the town will look into this as part of the application process.

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Kai Property Amendment Virtual Public Meeting Tonight

The Town of Oro Valley is hosting a virtual neighborhood meeting at 6pm tonight. The subject of the meeting is the proposed general plan amendment for the Southeast of Tangerine Road and 1st Avenue Intersection. This property abuts the northern edge of the Silerhawke development.

This is an "... opportunity for residents to ask questions directly to the applicant and Town staff as well as build-on the information, questions and comments that have been generated by the 1st and 2nd informational videos posted on OVprojects.com."

This virtual meeting is a step the process that the town created to facilitate community input on the proposed general plan amendment. The town created the process to accommodate Covid-19 social distancing requirements.  This meeting is not a substitute for in-person neighborhood meetings that are to be held later in the the August-September time frame. Virtual meetings will happen if in-person meetings can not safely occur.

Use zoom.us to access the meeting:

• Click on this link
• Enter the meeting ID number: 986 3253 1728

or join the meeting by phone: 253-215-8782

You can learn about this project by reading LOVE articles or the town's postings.
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"Kai" Proposed General Plan Amendment: Death By A Thousand Cuts

The Kai family, owners of the Silverhake Property, have spent a decade getting general plan and zoning amendments successfully approved. Oro Valley resident Devon Sloan reminds us of the history of this property as they voiced his concern on the latest Kai attempt during the virtual comment period. The words are theirs. The subheadings are ours...
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50 years of ownership
"The Kai family is very fortunate to have been able to purchase land in our area over 50 years ago, and I am well aware that times change, but why do our voter approved General Plan and our zoning requirements need to change every time the Kai family wants to do something different with their purchase?

From residential to commercial to residential
In 2015, the family's property near First and Tangerine was zoned as large lot residential, and they wanted and were granted a change to neighborhood commercial office. Now they want to change it back to residential, but not large lot. They want to make it 167 one story or 200 two story apartments or town homes or possibly a two story senior citizen facility.

The reasoning is as follows:

• poor visibility for retail at that location 
• the parcel of land is not exactly on that corner 
• there is a weak market for retail at that location because there is a lack of residents in that area AND because of the abundance of other retail space nearby 

Plus, they claim that retail won't improve in this location.

Already reduced density in previous approved amendments
Keep in mind that the Kai family is the owner of the land that is now Sanctuary at Silverhawke with 40 homes and the Villages at Silverhawke with 186 lots. The Villages at Silverhawke were originally approved as low density residential and in 2013. The Kai family was able to have it changed to medium density residential with the property square footage reduced to 5,520 from 7,200.

Also remember that Oro Valley lives on sales tax revenues, and changing zoning entitlements away from commercial, only limits the future of sales tax revenues. Once all construction/impact fees are paid, the land will produce no revenue for our Town. With the probability of apartments going in at the Oro Valley Marketplace, this area will be saturated with apartments. Unless the Town initiates a "renters tax", apartments don't produce income. The best use of the land for Oro Valley is to remain commercial. There are no lack of residents, especially with the development of both Silverhawke complexes.

Why do we have a voter approved General Plan and Town zoning requirements if a wealthy owner of the property can change what the property becomes just by saying 'I don't want to do this anymore. I want to make more money.'"
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He's Back! Kai Wants Even More Residential For Silverhawke

From commercial to residential
The owners of the Silverhawk development are seeking a general plan amendment to add residential land to the development.  The land, known as “Silverhawke Block 5”, abuts the northern boundary of the Silverhawke planned development, extending to Tangerine Road. It is 24 acres.

The land is currently planned for commercial property. The owner wants to change it to multi-family residential.

Applicant: Town needs more senior care facilities
Paul Oland, representing the owner, stated that the property does no lend itself to commercial use,  according to his town posted informational video on the project. He also stated that Oro Valley needs more senior care facilities. He offered no study, no substantiated justification for either assertion.  Other possible uses would be to build a rental casita community, a gated apartment community, or perhaps some combination of these.

Location of Silverawke Block 5

Applicant: Oro Valley retailers need more “rooftops”
Another of Oland's justifications for the change is that it will add "rooftops" to help Oro Valley's "struggling retailers." This is the same justification that former mayor Satish Hiremath used to justify past general plan amendments.

It’s taken 10 years, but landowner Kai got it done through politics
LOVE has chronicled the history of the Silverhawke area. In 2008, the landowner, Herb Kai, proposed an amendment that was withdrawn in June of that year based on significant resident objection.

Kai waited for a new council. In 2015, the council unanimously approved rezoning what is now the Silverhawke property from low density to medium density residential. They approved
211 detached single-family lots ranging in size from 5,520 sq. ft. to 7,200 sq. ft, with some commercial. Now the landowner wants to change some of that commercial land.

Voice your opinion
Today, you can see the result as you drive on First Avenue. The rooftops are almost on top of the road. The homeowners have a great view of the traffic on First Avenue. It's just another "on top of your neighbor" development. It's nothing special for our special town.

Let the town know how you feel about this proposed general plan amendment. You can do this through by submitting an email to ask@orovalleyaz.gov or by calling Oro Valley Constituent Services Coordinator Jessica Hynd at 520-229-4711. You have until April 23rd to do so.
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