By Dave Perry | Tucson Local Media
An attorney for the Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene has requested an eight-month continuance of the church’s request to build a 40-foot-tall sanctuary north of Calle Concordia.
In a March 14 letter to the town council, attorney Jon Gillespie of the Rose Law Group seeks an extension beyond April 2, when the town council is scheduled to consider the church’s appeal of building height denial by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
On Jan. 14, P&Z commissioners unanimously rejected the request for a 40-foot building sanctuary, calling the church’s proposal “incompatible with the area.”
Scottsdale-based Rose Law Group was retained by OVCN in early February. Gillespie stood before the town council as OVCN’s new legal counsel on Feb. 19. He asked for, and was granted, the extension to April 2. As of March 24, the April 2 public hearing and possible decision remained on the town’s website.
In Gillespie’s further review of the case, to include feedback from town staff and neighbors, he notes “the majority of concerns expressed by neighbors are related to the proposed expansion of OVCN’s campus, including considerations such as traffic, parking, and drainage.
“As these issues and concerns are not fully addressed in the current building height increase request, we believe it would be best to complete a full analysis of these issues and their solutions through the town’s formal development plan application process,” Gillespie writes.
