The Town of Oro Valley is well on its way to being a “community of excellence, building a sustainable future for our residents and those who follow us,” but there is still more than can be done, said Mayor Paul Loomis in his state of the town address.

“How do you know if you have a sustainable community?” he asked. “And who decides if and when you have achieved it?”

In a speech delivered last month at the Hilton El Conquistador Resort, Loomis challenged Oro Valley residents to join in a dialogue to help define what sustainability will mean to the town so they can “create a new vision for Oro Valley, both for today and in the future.”

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In the coming year, Loomis said the town will hold several forums to discuss sustainability and he urged the town’s residents to get involved.

But he offered several “ground rules” as the discussion goes forward:

“Our conversation cannot be based on extreme points of view.  We need to understand that issues such as preservation and conservation are not alternatives to a viable community, but rather, are elements of a sustainable community.

“The economy is the foundation on which we build sustainability — it is not an enemy of sustainability.  If we do not have a robust economy, we will not have the economic luxury of maintaining a healthy environment.  If we do not have a healthy environment, we will have no hope of building a strong economy.

Loomis focused on three areas in discussing how Oro Valley is doing and what it needs to do in the sustainability arena: town practices, setting policies and community partnerships

Loomis gave the town excellent marks in practicing fiscal responsibility and  ensure a “sustainable budget” He said the town had demonstrated this through ”sound fiscal business practices that have balanced our budget year after year. At the moment, our reserves remain intact and we remain conservative in our expenditures,” he said.

From the 1990s to 2003, Loomis said, the town counted on residential construction taxes to help. A slowdown for he past five years, he said, has had an impact on this revenue, but commercial construction taxes have made up for the loss. But these “one-time fees are finite  as our inventory of commercial land dwindles,” he added. As a result, without growth, sales taxes remain the primary source of funds for the budget.

He asked residents to think about what resources will be needed to maintain the town’s quality of life and where the funds will come from.

Citing progress on the environmental front, Loomis said in the past year,  the town created a “Green Team”- a roundtable of staff from all departments who are laying the groundwork for the development of the town’s Sustainable Operations Plan.

He said the team was considering how purchasing; recycling; vehicle purchase, use and maintenance; chemical use; and waste management can be beneficial to sustainability efforts, and was also reviewing building and zoning codes to determine where updates would be beneficial, particularly in the area of open space protection.

In addition, he said, in the past year the town Council adopted policies that called for all new town facilities to meet LEED certification requirements at the silver level, at a minimum.

He cited two major town projects that have responded to the town’s call for environmental sustainability.

“Sanofi-aventis, a world leader in pharmaceutical research and development, is constructing its first facility in the United States here in Oro Valley.,” Mayor Loomis said. “The beautiful $60 million campus will be LEED certified.  This is a tremendous achievement and we applaud sanofi for its leadership in this area.”

Also, Loomis noted that the largest retail facility in the community’s history—the Oro Valley Marketplace—“will be the first LEED-certified retail center in the country, and will include solar heating, water harvesting and other conservation elements.”

Loomis said the town also  is collaborating with regional entities like Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities (TREO)  to “recruit and retain quality employers that offer high-paying, high-quality jobs for our community.”  He said the Council will consider an economic development policy in the coming year that “focuses on attracting these kinds of high wage earners to our community.  Oro Valley’s bio tech industry is capturing the attention of some of the leading companies involved with cutting-edge technology and life-saving research.  It is vital that we nurture this reputation and continue to attract these quality industries.” 

He also said the town will launch a “shop local” campaign as part of its sustainability efforts, as well as “completion of the Cañada del Oro Linear Park, a 2 ½ -mile walkway system that invites the community to take advantage of safe walking and biking alternatives,” and expansion of transit alternatives, working with Sun Tran and the RTA to launch two express bus services this year.