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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPackets - Council Packets (2057)WITHEY MORRIS BAUG VIA EMAIL September 2, 2026 Mayor. and Members of the Town Council Town of Oro Valley 11000 N. La Canada Drive Oro Valley, Arizona 85737 Re: September 2, 2026 Agenda Item 3 — Rancho Vistoso PAD Zoning Interpretation Dear Mayor and Members of the Town Council: We represent Spectrum Retirement Communities in connection with its proposed residential care community within the Rancho Vistoso Planned Area Development (PAD). We write regarding Regular Agenda Item 3, which asks the Council to consider retaining outside counsel and appealing the Planning and Zoning Administrator's August 21, 2026 zoning interpretation regarding the term "sa.nitorium" as utilized in the Rancho Vistoso PAD. Spectrum is confident that the Administrator's interpretation is legally correct and should remain undisturbed. The Rancho Vistoso PAD expressly identifies a sanatorium as a permitted use in the Commercial C-1 district. Because the PAD does not separately define that term and the PAD was originally adopted by Pima County, the Administrator appropriately consulted the Pima County Zoning Code definition, which defines the term as "a building or group of buildings, arranged, intended, designed or used for the housing, care, or treatment of sick people or convalescents, other than those mentally ill or afflicted with infectious, contagious, or communicable diseases." Spectrum's proposed community fits comfortably within that definition. Its residents will receive ongoing housing, care, supervision, monitoring, and treatment associated with chronic and age - related health conditions, not merely age -restricted housing or independent living. The interpretation is also consistent with the Town's own 2016 interpretation. That earlier determination recognized that a sanatorium is a component of the broader "senior care facility" category and that the permitted sanatorium use encompasses facilities devoted to long-term care or treatment, while excluding independent living. The August 21 interpretation follows that distinction rather than expanding it. It confirms assisted living and memory care necessarily require long-term care and are therefore permitted under the definition of sanitorium. It also permits casitas only when residents receive the same functional care services as assisted living residents. Purely independent or age -restricted living remains outside the interpretation. P: 602.230.0600 wmbattorneys.com 2121 E Highland Ave F: 602.212.1787 infoCwmbattorneys.com Phoenix, AZ 85016 Notably, nothing in the interpretation grants final development approval or excuses Spectrum from the Town's otherwise applicable development standards and review processes. The project will remain subject to the required site plan, design, engineering, building, life -safety, and licensing reviews. The interpretation simply answers the narrower threshold question of whether the proposed use falls within a use that the governing PAD already permits. The public agenda materials identify no alleged error in the interpretation, contain no staff recommendation or supporting analysis, and identify no fiscal impact for hiring outside counsel. Before committing public resources to an administrative appeal, the Council should require a concrete explanation of how the Administrator supposedly erred. The Council should also weigh the predictable cost and risk of further proceedings. Only weeks ago, the Arizona Court of Appeals affirmed a superior court judgment reversing the Oro Valley Board of Adjustment in another Rancho Vistoso PAD interpretation dispute and affirmed an award of attorneys' fees against the Town. Paul & Susan Clifton GST Exempt Trust v. Town of Oro Valley Board of Adjustment, No. 2 CA -CV 2025-0106 (Ariz. App. July 22, 2026). That very recent decision demonstrates that courts will enforce the PAD's text and may require the Town to pay a prevailing private party's fees under A.R.S. 4 12-348. Spectrum hopes to continue working constructively with the Town and would prefer to devote its and the Town's resources to the standard development review process. However, if an appeal is filed, Spectrum is prepared to defend the interpretation before the Board of Adjustment. If the Board reverses or materially narrows the interpretation, Spectrum is prepared to seek a special action review in Pima County Superior Court pursuant to A.R.S. 4 9-462.06(K), request any appropriate interim relief, pursue further appellate remedies as necessary, and seek recovery of its fees and expenses to the fullest extent permitted by law. An appeal would therefore delay an appropriate residential care project, impose costs on both Spectrum and the Town, and create avoidable litigation risk. We respectfully urge the Council not to authorize an appeal or the retention of outside counsel for that purpose and instead allow the well -reasoned August 21 interpretation to stand. Sincerely yours, WITHEY MORRIS BAUGH, P.L.C. By Alex Hayes cc: Town Manager; Town Attorney; Town Clerk; Planning and Zoning Administrator -2-