Town planner and developer outline Hallamark plan for Lambert Lane: 69 single‑family homes, townhomes and commercial placeholder

Oro Valley planning staff and the developer presented a revised master development plan on the Hallamark property at the northeast corner of Lambert Lane and La Cholla and answered residents’ questions at a second neighborhood meeting.

Michael Spaeth, the town’s principal planner and meeting facilitator, said the meeting’s purpose was to gather feedback and explain process changes under HB 2447, a state law that took effect Jan. 1 and requires administrative approval of code‑compliant, nondiscretionary development applications. "A nondiscretionary application, once it's code compliant, the town is legally required to approve it," Spaeth said, and noted that aggrieved property owners within 300 feet may file an appeal to the Board of Adjustment.

Paul Olin, a representative of Paradigm Land speaking for the property owner, walked through the four‑phase plan. Phase 1 proposes 69 single‑family detached homes on lots of at least 12,000 square feet with a maximum building height of 25 feet. Phase 2 shows 98 attached townhomes; Phase 3 is a placeholder for about 62,000 square feet of future commercial development; and Phase 4 shows 40 apartments. Olin said the plan stays below the area’s maximum permitted densities and that only Phase 1 is currently planned for near‑term construction.

"D.R. Horton will be developing the lots themselves," Olin said when asked who would build Phase 1. He said construction could begin once construction plans and permits are approved and estimated a 2026 start as a target, while noting final timing depends on permit approvals and contractor scheduling.

Traffic and frontage improvements were a central focus of public questions. Olin and town staff said the developer will construct the north‑side widening for Lambert Lane adjacent to Phase 1 — extending the north through lane, adding curb, sidewalk and striped left‑ and right‑turn lanes into the subdivision — and future phases would complete additional frontage work. Spaeth described this as standard Oro Valley policy: developers must mitigate impacts along the frontage their projects create.

Residents pressed the developer on buffering and visual impacts. Olin said the plan proposes 20‑foot landscape buffer yards along the north and east edges, 25‑foot buffers in front of residential portions and a 30‑foot buffer in front of commercial parcels where code requires heavier screening. He also said grading was designed to limit view impacts and that code restricts some corner lots to single‑story models. "We worked with staff to identify which lots were absolutely restricted, and those are the ones that are shown on the plan," Olin said.

Water and drainage drew questions from neighbors. Olin said the project will be served by the Oro Valley water utility, which he said has been certified by the state as having a 100‑year water supply, and staff said the submitted drainage report demonstrates no upstream or downstream impacts and has been reviewed by town engineers.

Other resident concerns included pedestrian access, native‑plant salvage, construction staging, noise and where contractors would place temporary facilities. Staff and the developer said the plan includes a public trail connection to the Panorama Views/Lambert Lane Park trail, that a detailed inventory of native plants is in the plan set and that viable native plants will be transplanted where possible; the town sometimes coordinates with local organizations to reuse excess plants.

Multiple speakers asked whether the commercial buildings shown are fixed plans or placeholders. Olin and staff said Phase 3 is a placeholder because no commercial developer has been identified and that any future developer would need to substantially conform to the approved plan or return with a revised submittal for neighbor review.

Spaeth closed by reiterating next steps: because the application is a code‑compliant, nondiscretionary submittal, the town will proceed with administrative approval once conformance is met, followed by improvement plan reviews and permitting. Meeting materials, the recording, and future filings will be posted at ovprojects.com, and staff asked residents to send follow‑up comments to the town’s constituent services coordinator.