Summary:
The City of Peoria is initiating a request on behalf of the Arizona State Land Trust, for annexation of approximately 458 acres located in the vicinity of Happy Valley Road and the Loop 303. More particularly, the area is generally located south of the Jomax Road alignment, north of the Calle Lejos alignment, and between the 115th and 119th Avenue alignments (see Exhibit 1-2).
The area is currently vacant, and zoned Rural-43 (RU-43) within unincorporated Maricopa County. The RU-43 zoning district provides for a semi-rural, one-acre lot minimum. Under State Statute, upon annexation, the City must confer initial zoning ("translational zoning") within six (6) months of the effective date of annexation. The City's Suburban Ranch 43 (SR-43) Zoning District is the most consistent with the current County zoning. The initial zoning will be processed as a future case upon completion of the annexation.
The Arizona State Land Department has submitted a broader rezoning case with the City which would include the 458-acre annexation request into the larger 1,632-acre entitlement, known as the North Peoria Gateway (NPG). The NPG Planned Community District (PCD) rezone case would be part of a potential future city council action that would include the annexation and initial zoning.
Annexation Information
The subject property is more specifically depicted in the legal description (Exhibit 1) and map attached to this report (Exhibit 2). The property is contiguous to the City’s jurisdictional boundaries, lies within the City’s Planning Area (General Plan), and is in conformance with the adopted annexation policy.
The annexation process pursuant to A.R.S. §9-471 is briefly described below:
(a) Filing of blank petition with County Recorder by the City opens up a thirty (30) day waiting period to discuss the proposal – COMPLETED
(b) The City must then hold a public hearing (no action) to discuss the proposal within the waiting period – CITY COUNCIL (8/27/23)
(c) At the conclusion of the 30-day waiting period, the municipality has up to 1-year to collect signatures satisfying the annexation “test.” – NOT COMPLETED
(d) The City holds a final public hearing to consider and take action on the annexation request – ANTICIPATED TO BE October 15, 2024
(e) The annexation is effective 30 days upon adoption of the ordinance.
Under state statute, a successful annexation requires the completion of a petition with (a) signatures of owners of one-half or more in value of the real and personal property; and (b) more than one-half of the persons owning real and personal property that would be subject to taxation by the City in the event of annexation.