Oro Valley commission backs Extra Space Storage expansion with conditions on hours, landscaping and parking

The Oro Valley Planning & Zoning Commission on May 7 recommended approval of a general-plan amendment and conditionally approved rezoning to a planned area development to permit an expansion of an existing Extra Space Storage facility southeast of Oracle Road and Hardy Road, voting 5-0 on each item.

Kyle Packer, a senior planner for the town of Oro Valley, briefed the commission on a roughly 9-acre site split into Area 1 (the existing drive-up storage facility) and Area 2 (the proposed expansion). “All the items before you tonight are compliant with their respective general plan and zoning code review criteria and as such, staff recommends approval of item A, conditional approval of item B, and approval of item C,” Packer said.

Applicant attorney John Gillespie of the Rose Law Group and the project team described a design that would place the new two-story, roughly 50,000–52,000-square-foot building and 68 covered RV parking spaces on the northern parcels, screen the vehicle-storage area with a wall and enhanced landscaping, and avoid the town’s 300-foot scenic-preservation overlay. Gillespie said the applicant projects about $10,000,000 in construction investment.

The commission’s votes included three key conditions agreed during the hearing. Commissioners amended the hours-of-access condition to read that customer access to the facility shall be limited to 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and accepted the applicant’s offer to provide larger trees on the east buffer; the minimum box size in the landscaping condition was revised from 24-inch to 36-inch box trees. The commission and staff also confirmed prohibitions on generator use for the vehicle-storage area and on on-site RV washing, both included in the project narrative or conditions and enforceable through zoning compliance.

Neighbors raised concerns about drainage, wildlife and traffic. Jane Kananza, a Sunnyslope resident, said the expansion site includes an old wash that helps carry monsoon runoff and warned that a new wall could “stop up the water and just cause more problems for us.” Mr. Laws, town staff addressing drainage and traffic, said the project must convey off-site drainage through the property and outlet it in a manner consistent with existing conditions; he also said the traffic study reviewed by ADOT and the town found self-storage to be a low trip‑generator compared with many commercial uses.

Commissioners also focused on parking metrics and operational impacts. Staff and the applicant explained that Area 1’s drive‑up units historically used fewer formal parking spaces (the existing site has five provided spaces), while Area 2’s internal units are parked to current code; figures discussed in the hearing included roughly 210 internal units at the existing facility and about 400 units proposed in the new building (the new building’s compliance would require approximately eight parking spaces under current standards). Staff noted they had not observed parking complaints at the existing site and would pursue enforcement or require conversion of some commercially rented RV spaces to customer parking if overflow or compliance problems develop.

On the motions: Commissioner Zelensky moved to recommend approval of the general-plan amendment; the motion was seconded and passed 5-0. Commissioner Wilson moved to recommend conditional approval of the rezoning to a PAD, adding a friendly amendment to limit customer access hours and a separate amendment to require 36-inch box trees in the landscaping condition; that motion carried 5-0. The alternate parking compliance plan was then approved 5-0. The commission’s approvals are recommendations to the Town Council, which will consider the item at a future meeting if the applicant proceeds.

The planning staff also noted next steps and upcoming hearings: if the commission forwards a recommendation the council could consider the item on June 5, and the commission’s next meeting is scheduled for June 4, which will include OV Path Forward survey results. The commission adjourned at 6:52 p.m.