$1.7 Million In Tangerine Road Bridge Repair Is Yet Another Hiremath Council "Poison Pill"

There are consequences to every council action
Some good, some bad. Sometimes those consequences last long after that council is gone. Sinking sewer pipes, sinking roads, and settling houses in Valley Vista, a development built on the edge of Big Wash, is one example. Another is the town’s takeover of a segment of Tangerine Road.

Town assumed maintenance for section of Tangerine Road from the State in 2019
In 2019, the Town of Oro Valley took over responsibility for the maintenance of Tangerine Road from Oracle Road to just west of First Avenue. That section of roadway will be part of a discussion tomorrow night when the Council considers a request to allow access onto that roadway for a Starbucks drive-through. You can read more about that request here.

Now, $1.7 million Tangerine bridge repair cost looms unfunded
The maintenance of that roadway includes the upkeep of the bridge over Big Wash. The bridge requires approximately $1.7 million in repairs next year. “The bridges are in excellent condition and will not require maintenance work for several years. In addition, Tangerine Road is designated by PAG and ADOT as a regional arterial road and therefore eligible to receive regional and federal funds for bridge repairs,” according to Resolution (R)17-11, passed when the road was accepted on April 5, 2017.

For reference, the bridge over the wash was 17 years old in 2017. There is no way that it was in “excellent” condition. That designation implies that it was a new bridge.

Hiremath Council unanimously approved takeover with quick vote and no discussion
That motion was passed unanimously by a council composed of the pro-developer members: Hiremath, Solomon, Waters, Hornat, Snider, Rodman, and Pena. There was no public discussion. The resolution was included as a “consent agenda” item. That item was approved by the council unanimously. It took about 20 seconds for the Town to assume costly maintenance of that road section.

Cut the takeover time in half
What makes the resolution interesting is that it included a provision to waive the normal four-year timetable for the turnover. Instead, the resolution approved an immediate takeover. It took two years for that transfer to happen. The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) approved the transfer of the section of Tangerine Road to the Town of Oro Valley. This approval was formalized in an ADOT Right-of-Way Resolution. The specific resolution that authorized the transfer is ADOT Right-of-Way Resolution 2019-09-A-024, which was finalized on September 20, 2019.

Speculation: Rush to takeover may have been to help developers seeking road access to Tangerine
Why the rush? We can only guess. Our guess is that it was to help developers gain road access to Tangerine in that area, access that was prohibited by the state’s designation of that road as a highway. Tomorrow night, the applicant seeks just that access. We expect the town council, led by Vice Mayor Barrett, to take a hard look at the access request. This expectation is based on the months of discussions that took place regarding the drive-through that is supposed to be built at the intersection of La Cañada and Naranja Drive.

But there’s more: Where will the funds to repair the bridge come from?
Still, there remains the question of the source of funding for the needed bridge repair. Stating that the town is “…eligible to receive regional and federal funds for bridge repairs” does not mean that it will get those funds. Has the town even applied for these funds? If so, what is the status?

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Mixed Use Amendment Is A Top Priority According To Council and Staff

Every two years, the Oro Valley Development and Infrastructure Department, with the approval of Oro Valley Town Council, embarks on "planning initiatives." These initiative are to comprise no more than 15% of the department's actual workload. They are activities that are undertaken in addition to the normal activities of the department.

At the July 3 council meeting, the Oro Valley Town Council approved the priorities of the planning initiatives for the next two years.

How The Plan Is Developed
Town planner Chad Danes noted that "The work plan is drawn from a number of areas."  These are the general plan, the strategic plan, and other council approved initiatives.  Danes noted that the planning workplan is the "primary tool used to implement the general plan."

Past Achievements
Achievements from the 2010 plan include:

• Sign code update
• Adding a CN Zoning district to the zoning code
• Amended recreational area requirements
• Adopting design standards
• Streamlining the development process, including creating the conceptual design review board
• Initiated the 2015 general plan update

High Priority Items: 2013-2015
The 2013-2015 plan is comprised of 14 projects.

The top priority is develop the 2015 general plan update.  Second is to do some planning around Naranja Park in conjunction with the studies that the council has approved regarding future park plans.

Third on the list is to develop a minor general plan amendment to the code for a "mixed use" designation.   This would be done before it would be defined.  WHY?  According to Council Member Lou Waters, other towns have a mixed use code so Oro Valley should also have a mixed use code.  

Another high priority planning item, #4, is to develop updated criteria for granting conditional use permits.  Town staff feels that the current standards are simply not adequate for the types of decisions that need to be made today.

Defining the nature of the Tangerine Road corridor from Oracle to I-10 is also on the list.  The objective, as stated by Council Member Zinkin, is to insure that it becomes a "corridor" and not simply another road with 100 stop lights!  "In terms of development, this is probably one of the most critical things Oro Valley is going to do," observed Council Member Joe Hornat at the meeting.

During the meeting Council Member Burns observed that a 14 item project list for 15% of the department's workload as rather foolhardy in that only a handful, hopefully the top items, are going to get done.  Nonetheless, the 14 item was approved as submitted by council, 6-0 (Garner absent).
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