Photo via Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene
By Dave Perry | Tucson Local Media
A public hearing to consider the Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene’s appeal of a height decision remains on the town council’s agenda for 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 2.
Before that hearing, though, the governing board will consider the church’s March 14 request for an eight-month delay. If the town council grants that delay, the public hearing and specific appeal “will not be considered” Wednesday, according to a town staff report.
Prior to both deliberations, the town council has scheduled a 5 p.m. Wednesday executive session to obtain legal advice on the subject.
Several decisions have led to this moment in a years-long disagreement between the church and its neighbors.
On Jan. 14, the Oro Valley Planning & Zoning Commission denied OVCN’s request for permission to build a 40-foot-tall sanctuary on its campus, located on the northeast corner of Calle Concordia and Calle Buena Vista in Oro Valley. P&Z called the request “incompatible with the area.”
OVCN, claiming it had been “wrongly treated,” filed its notice to appeal the denial on Feb. 3. It asked the town council “to overrule the decision of the P&Z” regarding sanctuary height.
The church then asked for a continuance — postponement — of council’s consideration, and the appeal was moved to the council’s April 2 agenda.
Then, in a March 14 letter to the town council, attorney Jon Gillespie of the Rose Law Group requested an extension beyond April 2. The Scottsdale-based law firm, newly retained by the church, asked for the time to conduct “a full analysis” of all issues and solutions regarding the church’s effort to expand its facilities, and the neighbors’ challenges to those proposals.
