Oro Valley Board of Adjustment approves variance to raise part of Palisades addition to 20 feet 6 inches

The Town of Oro Valley Board of Adjustment on Tuesday approved a variance allowing an addition at 1980 East Palisades Road to exceed the R-1-36 zoning district’s 18‑foot height limit and reach 20 feet 6 inches in a portion of the new construction.

Senior planning technician Patty Hayes told the board the application asked to increase a portion of the home’s addition to 20 feet 6 inches to accommodate a pitched interior roof and greater interior ceiling height. Hayes said building height is measured from surrounding grade and that the property is a roughly 3.5‑acre site with a flat build area. Staff reviewed the five findings required under state law for a variance and concluded the first two findings related to special circumstances were not met, recommending denial. “This variance request does not meet all 5 findings due to the fact that there are no special circumstances,” Hayes said during her presentation.

Homeowner Rob Burris told the board the addition is intended as a game room and that design constraints — a narrow buildable area and a pitched roof to maximize interior space — result in a 20.6‑foot exterior height even though the interior use motivated the change. Burris said he had met with adjacent neighbors, described the lot as sitting well below surrounding homes and asserted that nearby property owners had no objections. “We sat down with the architects and fully explained our intended use…we’re not subject to any CC&Rs,” Burris said, adding that he did not believe the requested increase would harm neighbors.

Board members questioned staff about whether nearby homes that exceed the 18‑foot limit did so because of pre‑annexation agreements or earlier county permits; Hayes confirmed several nearby properties were permitted under prior Pima County standards or pre‑annexation agreements and therefore exceed the town standard. Several members said the lot’s location — straddling different zoning contexts and sitting below adjacent properties — weighed in favor of the applicant.

A board member moved to approve the variance and a second was recorded. Vice Chair Brandhueber said he opposed the request. After discussion the motion passed by majority vote. The board’s action authorizes the specific portion of the proposed addition to reach 20 feet 6 inches; staff had recommended denial on statutory‑finding grounds.

There were no members of the public who signed up to speak during the hearing. With the variance granted and no further business, the board adjourned.

The record shows the board debated neighborhood impacts, pre‑annexation exceptions and whether the lot’s configuration constituted a special circumstance sufficient to warrant a variance. The Town of Oro Valley staff presentation and the homeowner’s testimony are part of the meeting record.