During the public comment period on Oct. 15, several speakers representing the Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Gen Z committee and residents requested that staff revise the town’s 60% draft of the “OV Path Forward” general plan so it better supports housing affordability and does not exclude apartment development.

Makenna Markley, an Oro Valley resident and chair of the Chamber’s Gen Z committee, told the council that Arizona law requires a general plan to address improvements in housing quality, variety and affordability. She urged staff to remove language in policy BB 0.1 and certain guiding principles that she said effectively bans apartments by omitting the word “apartment” from listings of acceptable housing types and by describing the plan as intending to “limit construction of new high density apartment communities to selective areas.” Markley asked staff and council to revise wording to explicitly include apartments among desired housing-types and to avoid specifying acceptable jobs or salary ranges for people who may live in Oro Valley.

Kristen Sharp of the Chamber (also on the Gen Z committee) and Emma Reyes (Chamber board member) echoed the request, with Sharp describing workforce-retention concerns for young professionals who cannot afford to live in Oro Valley. Markley noted the Chamber will provide a full set of recommended changes to staff and council.

Council members thanked speakers and noted staff will receive the Chamber’s formal comments. No council action was taken during the meeting; the speakers asked council and staff to amend draft language ahead of future general-plan events and hearings.