Overview and Resident Guidance

Oro Valley’s defining assets are its natural environment, resources, and beauty. Our community enjoys scenic views in nearly every direction. By day, mountaintops tower to the east and the north. At night, the dark sky is full of bright stars. Wildlife corridors with abundant native vegetation cross the area. In keeping true to the Sonoran Desert climate, we place high value on using water and energy resources wisely.

This chapter focuses on the following topics. Click on the links below to navigate to each topic or scroll down to read more.

• Environment
• Climate and energy
• Water resources and conservation

Our community dedicated its times and voices to create this plan. Since October 2023, extensive and innovative efforts were made to engage the Oro Valley community and gather ideas from a broad range of residents. Our values, priorities, and expectations are captured in the goals, policies and actions linked below. There's still time to help shape OV's future!

Learn more about the resident guidance and ways to get involved at the bottom of this page.

Sustainability Goals

Click on the images below to see the policies and specific actions the Town will take to achieve each goal.

Goal J: Wildlife Habitats.		Goal K: Environmental Resources.
Photo Credit: Andrew Romero Goal L: Outdoor Lighting		Goal M: Stormwater Management.
Goal N: Heat Mitigation.		Goal O: Recycling.
Goal P: Utilities.		Goal Q: Food Security.
Goal R: Water Use Efficiency.		Goal S: Water Resource Planning.

Relationship to Other Chapters of the Plan

The topics in this chapter are interrelated with other aspects of the Plan, in the same way they are connected in our lives. The following table depicts the overlap between this chapter's goals (and associated policies and actions) and other chapters.

Please click on the links below to read the related goals, policies, and actions.

Resident-driven Process

Starting in Phase 1, extensive and innovative efforts were made to engage the Oro Valley community and gather ideas from a broad range of residents. This phase resulted in the vision and guiding principles that form the foundation for the plan.

Moving into Phase 2, the Community Resident Working Group used the valuable insights from Phase 1, along with relevant background information, to craft the goals, policies, and actions outlined in this section. This dedicated group met six times from February 2025 to December 2025 to reach a consensus on the plan.

• The guidance from residents that shaped the 10-year plan can be found in the Phase 1 Report.
• For more details about the existing conditions related to the topics discussed in this section, please refer to the companion document, OV’s Path Forward Background Report.

All residents are invited to join the remaining Resident Working Group meetings in December 2025 to achieve consensus on a Resident Recommended Draft of the Plan. Please click here for more information and to sign up.