Oro Valley Church expansion continues to see pushback ahead of Thursday meeting

ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — A second community meeting is set for Thursday night to discuss a proposed expansion of the Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene, which has been met with opposition from nearby neighbors.

The church wants to build a new 40-foot-tall sanctuary as part of a larger campus renovation. It's a step back from the original plans of a proposed sports complex, which was also met with pushback.

However, neighbors like Ed Clary, who lives nearby, say the church has not been transparent about its plans and is concerned about the potential for increased traffic, noise and drainage issues.

"The biggest problem is they haven't [been transparent] for four years and if they start to do it today, it's the right thing to do," said Ed Clary. "Problem is nobody is going to trust them and I hate to say that but they've had every opportunity available."

Collins has continued to assure residents they are listening to the concerns they have raised over the years.

"We're not doing this in any intentional way to disrupt or ruin anybody's life," said Pastor Chris Collins. "But we think there's a high value in what our church is offering our community and we want as many people to benefit from that as possible."

Despite that, neighbors believe the new sanctuary could disrupt an already busy area that contains a high school, the church and an aquatic center.

"It's actually more of a case of, we're at max capacity with all that busy," said Clary. "On a nice day it's very quiet. On a day there's something going on at the aquatic center or at the school or anything like that, this is the Indianapolis motor speedway going back and forth with all that stuff."

The church is seeking approval from the town to make the height of the new sanctuary 40 feet. The public is invited to voice their concerns at a meeting on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Oro Valley Council Chambers.