Oro Valley commission recommends code changes to align with new state construction-hour law

The Oro Valley Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-0 to recommend that Town Council adopt code amendments aligning local construction-hour rules with a state emergency law that took effect in May.

The measure, presented by Michael Spathe, the town's principal planner, aims to update town code and zoning provisions so permitted construction activities and concrete work comply with the state law’s summer-month schedule while preserving stricter winter limits and a process for limited extended-hours permits.

Spathe told the commission that the state statute sets summer-month hours — May 1 through Oct. 15 — and requires jurisdictions to permit construction activities between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays and to allow concrete activities one hour earlier; Saturdays are subject to a 7 a.m.–7 p.m. window under the law. "The legislation is already in effect as emergency legislation. The governor signed it in effective, May 13," Spathe said during his presentation.

To ensure local compliance and consistency, staff proposed several…