Neighbors meet about annexation

By Janet DelTufo, Assistant Editor

Issues regarding the advantages and disadvantages of annexing into the Town of Wickenburg were discussed by some 60 residents last week during a neighborhood gathering at the Hospitality RV Park.

Paul and Jan Sullivan, owners of the park, hosted the meeting for residents involved in the proposed Hassayampa annexation project.

The meeting was planned after several residents attended a June public hearing during a Town Council meeting. Many who attended the council meeting felt they were left with more questions than answers.

Several residents were quick to criticize the project because the proposed annexation area did not include a number of neighboring trailer parks.

Town Planner Miles Johnson and Planner Steve Boyle also attended the Hospitality meeting and gave a presentation regarding the annexation. During the presentation, they reported recent changes to the proposal.

Boyle told the audience that the planning department had decided to add the trailer parks into the annexation, and that updated paperwork regarding those additions would be submitted to Maricopa County.

“A lot of the frustration was expressed because we were not including certain trailer and mobile home parks in this annexation.” Boyle said. “The planning staff initially suggested that we annex these areas, but after further discussion of emergency services, we re-thought that idea.

“However, we decided to look at it like having a child,” Boyle added. “If you wait until you can afford to have one, it would never happen. So we are going to include those trailer parks back into the proposed annexation. We want to gain your trust, and we have listened to your concerns and comments.”

The annexation consists of about 3,300 acres, approximately half of those acres owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). A concern of some of the residents in the proposed annexation area has been the likelihood of a developer getting his/her hands on that BLM land.

Jan Sullivan, first to address the audience, informed her guests that she had done some research and was told by a representative of BLM that the agency has no plans to swap the land with the State of Arizona.

If the property is ever traded with other land from the Arizona State Land Department, it could then be sold to private developers. However, Sullivan said that when speaking with Tim Jackson of the BLM, he was adamant that those acres would never be traded with the State Land Department.

Boyle told the audience that the Town Council had approved the revised annexation and that the paperwork will take about 45 days to process.

At the end of 45 days, Boyle will begin to send out notices to each property owner regarding the annexation and the steps that will then follow.

A number of people asked Boyle about pre-annexation agreements and pre-existing property uses. Boyle told the audience that each property owner would have the opportunity to sign a pre-annexation agreement, which would put in writing any legal, nonconforming uses on each respective property.

A pre-annexation agreement is not required to be signed for these non-conforming uses to remain with the property after annexation takes place. (Non-conforming use means the use is not approved by the current Wickenburg town code). However, placing these uses in writing avoids any future confusion regarding the time a particular use was established.

When Miles Johnson spoke to the audience, he wanted to make sure it knew that annexing into the town would not solve issues such as their current road conditions.

“What you have today, is what you will have tomorrow, next year and 10 years from now,” Johnson said. “Your roads getting paved … it’s just not going to happen. However, you can be in the county for 100 years and no one there would probably ever try to improve your roads. We will eventually try.”

Johnson spoke of the benefits of annexation, such as community spirit, the ability to vote on town issues like mayor and council, and Wickenburg police protection.

It will cost these residents a small amount each year for these benefits. Boyle told the audience that at the current Wickenburg tax rate, it would cost $51 a year, based on a property valuation of $150,000.

A few people in the audience remained argumentative and spoke against the annexation, although a number of those in the audience were pleased with what they were hearing from Johnson and Boyle.

One of those individuals was host Paul Sullivan, who told those who remained through the entire presentation that the planning department had made positive changes in the proposal.

“Three things were addressed this evening that we had concerns about during the June 4 meeting,” Sullivan said. “We talked about the trailer parks and now they are in the annexation. We were concerned about taxes and we know that the increase is currently $60 on a property value of $200,000. And we were concerned about our pre-annexation agreements, and we’ve learned that we can have our fences and other things.

“Lastly,” Sullivan added, “we heard during that meeting that the Morristown intersection of U.S. Highway 60 and State Route 74 is going to be extremely valuable to the people who get that intersection. It should Wickenburg residents who receive that benefit.”

When asked about the Morristown intersection, Johnson told the audience that it is his hope that it will only take one more annexation after the Hassayampa annexation to reach that particular intersection.

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