March 09, 2007

One of the subjects the Maricopa City Council has recently touched on in their retreats has been the annexation of additional land into the Maricopa city limits.

At the Council's first retreat, City Planner Amy Haberbosch was asked to describe some annexation possibilities and she suggested that the Council might consider taking on a larger annexation than they had in the past. There have been three annexations completed to date with roughly 3,000 acres being the largest piece to be added to the city's size, with the total annexed land to date coming in at about 5,000 acres.

In comparison, one of the possibilities and probably the first priority in terms of direction, is the area to the west of the city encompassed within these basic descriptions: south of the Gila River Indian Community, west of the city to the Maricopa County line, south to Papago Rd. and back to SR 347. This area, subtracting out the Ak-Chin Community land, would be approximately 45 square miles, which at present has a variety of planned uses, from regional park land to rural to low density residential and more.

One reason to pursue a larger annexation than previously undertaken, is a reduction in labor - more land per annexation attempt. Another is that this area would encompass all of the Maricopa Unified School District. Additionally, there is some benefit to annexing the area described above now, before other adjacent municipalities, like Goodyear, do it. Until the passage of Proposition 207, Goodyear had been considering an annexation of the same general area.

There are probably other issues Goodyear is considering, but Proposition 207, which passed during the last General Election in November 2006, set very specific parameters on how governmental entities could handle eminent domain - the "taking" of property - and set the stage for lawsuits. According to an article in the Arizona Capitol Times by Christian Palmer, opponents of Prop. 207, "have said they expect an avalanche of revenue draining lawsuits from citizens seeking compensation, and the initiative's provision that requires governments to cover plaintiffs' legal costs will make matters even worse."

Residents have many questions when it comes to annexation, which the city has partially covered with a frequently asked questions page on their website. To access this information, go to www.cityofmaricopa.net and along the left side will be an annexation link.

Annexation doesn't just happen in a vacuum. There is a democratic process involved, which requires more than 50 percent of the affected property owners as well as more than 50 percent of the owners of the assessed valuation in the area to sign on to annexation.

This is just the first of several articles the Monitor has planned on annexation issues.

©Casa Grande Valley Newspapers Inc. 2007