Oro Valley seeks ‘balance’ east of Oracle Road | News

Town government is moving toward new zoning and general plan use designations for undeveloped land within the Oro Valley Town Center, the 114-acre parcel directly east of Oracle Road near its intersection with Pusch View Lane.

There are three distinct uses of land in the staff-generated proposal, which is up for commission and council review in May. They are:

• A total of 88 acres — essentially, the rolling hills dotted with desert trees below Pusch Ridge — designated as “permanent, protected, open space,” Oro Valley Principal Planner Michael Spaeth said. Existing zoning, which would allow 77 single-family homes on that land, would be eliminated.

The proposal represents “a significant increase” in open space, he said. Over time, Oro Valley envisions trails on that land; 

• Commercial use of an expanded, 11.75-acre parcel directly along Oracle, with the intent to bring in more shopping, office, and restaurant space.

Buildings on that piece could not be taller than 24 feet, or two stories, closest to Oracle, “to preserve those viewsheds as you drive up and down the Oracle corridor,” Spaeth said. More than 200 feet from Oracle, the proposal would allow buildings up to 39 feet, or three stories. Ridges within the adjacent open space area are not less than 75 feet higher than parking areas next to Oracle;

• Housing, on a 13.9-acre parcel at the north end, closest to the Villas at San Dorado apartments and a commercial center anchored by CVS Pharmacy. The proposal would allow townhomes or multifamily residential units “to help support existing commercial as well as potential commercial” to the south, Spaeth said. Any housing would be limited to three stories.

A 5-story, 75-foot hotel would no longer be permissible within that site.

“We’re trying to create more opportunities to bring more people in to support those commercial spaces,” Spaeth said. “We are focusing on limiting appropriate development, trying to balance potential impacts to neighbors and the overall community. We’re trying to find that balance.”

It’s been discussed for years 

For some time, Oro Valley has wrestled with uses for land on the east side of Oracle Road. Once envisioned as a “town center,” a Main Street of sorts, criticism was heavy when the 3-story Villas at San Dorado apartments were approved and built in 2015.

The company Kitchell Development has been building out the Oracle-adjacent ground with restaurant, retail and office uses extending to the south.

More recently, property owner Patrick Rooney tried to develop single-family residential homes laced into the valleys of the Santa Catalina foothills. He encountered strong opposition. Then, in 2019, he donated the 108 acres to the town of Oro Valley.

Since then, the town council has tried to figure out a path forward. It initiated the general plan amendment and zoning process which is now months-long. Staff first created six concepts, which were reduced to four. “We were directed by council to proceed with this one,” Spaeth told neighbors.

Within the proposed commercial site, Kitchell owns 4.5 acres of undeveloped ground south of existing office and retail buildings.

“It’s kind of a bowl,” Spaeth said. “We want to focus development into that bowl, minimizing as much visual impact to neighbors as possible.”

Oro Valley has worked “hand in hand with Kitchell,” and has engaged other developers, to identify what could work on the town-owned ground, Spaeth said. Oro Valley wants to establish “zoning that is supported by the market, and that will allow us to go and sell it.

“I don’t think it does anybody any good to put in development rights the market won’t support,” he added.

Right now, there are no immediate plans for its development. Still, the “ultimate goal,” Spaeth said, is to rezone and sell the commercial land along Oracle Road.

Oro Valley government is “very heavily reliant on commercial sales tax” to pay for services and infrastructure, he told neighbors. While commercial development of the area may not be imminent, “we’re trying to set the town up so it could be in an advantageous position” to reap financial benefits from commercial activity.

Neighbors want it left as is.

Speakers at the March 25 neighborhood meeting want much of the land to remain largely undeveloped.

“This is profoundly inconsistent with what we want, and we own this property, not the city council,” a resident said; speakers at neighborhood meetings are not required to identify themselves. “It does not have to be sold. It can stay the way it is, and you can raise revenue another way.”

“What’s the justification for commercial space when so many (commercial) spaces are empty?” a resident asked. “Commercial buildings certainly don’t add beauty to our area.”

“I think it’s absolutely beautiful land,” said one guest. “I support keeping as much open space as possible.”

“It’s one of the most beautiful areas I’ve ever seen in the United States,” another resident agreed. “I don’t really feel it’s been respected. Why can’t we have (a) park option?”

“Can we turn the apartments into something else,” perhaps a museum or a school, asked another speaker. Those uses would be allowed in a commercial area, Spaeth said.

“The sky’s the limit, but somehow, this is what gets presented,” a resident said.

Fourteen people attended the first neighborhood meeting, with another seven online. A dozen were on hand for the second meeting, with others online. At each, residents raised concerns about traffic, parking, views, height and compatibility.

“There will be traffic added to this area,” Spaeth said. “From the traffic aspect, there is additional capacity.” As any development activity proceeds, traffic studies would be required, he pointed out.

What would he recommend?

Spaeth was asked for his thoughts on what should be done with the land.

Right now, he said, zoning on the northernmost parcel would allow buildings up to 50 feet with architectural features, to include the 75-foot hotel. “One of the stated goals is to remove that as an allowed building height,” Spaeth said.

Existing zoning would allow single-family homes within valleys of the foothills below the El Conquistador Patio Homes and developments within La Reserve.

“We are proposing to eliminate those 77 homes entirely,” Spaeth said. The proposal “adds open space, and a significant buffer for you. That is a huge advantage from a planning perspective, more buffer, and more open space.”

The proposal would concentrate commercial development along Oracle Road, on lands “that are as insulated from neighbors as possible,” he continued.

“Our goal is not just to raise revenue,” Spaeth said; rather, it is “to do so in a mindful way from a planner’s perspective.” Creation of nearly 90 acres of open space “seems like a significant win for the town.

“Keep in mind,” he added, the proposed commercial areas “are adjacent to a 6-lane highway.”

The proposal is scheduled for review and recommendation by the Oro Valley Planning and Zoning Commission on May 5, then final review by the town council on May 6. Those are “two more opportunities for public participation,” Spaeth said.