Peoria holds public hearing on annexing 174‑acre state trust strip into larger Peoria Innovation Corps plan

The Peoria City Council held a statutorily required public hearing June 17 on a proposed annexation of about 174 acres of Arizona State Trust land ("Parcel C") into the city as part of the larger Peoria Innovation Corps (PIC) entitlement process.

Planning Director Chris Hawkes said the annexation is a housekeeping action to consolidate scattered state trust parcels within the PIC planning area and that state statute requires a public hearing before formal action. The council took testimony but did not vote; Hawkes said the annexation and the required translational zoning are scheduled to return to council on Aug. 5.

Hawkes described Parcel C as a narrow strip largely in the Agua Fria River bottom and adjacent floodplain near Loop 303 and Lake Pleasant Parkway. He said the parcel may be used as open space or packaged into a larger state land auction rather than sold alone because floodplain conditions limit standalone development.

Hawkes outlined the broader PIC work: the city is leading a master-planning and entitlement effort for roughly 6,700 acres north of Pleasant Valley and west of the Agua Fria River corridor to create a coordinated land-use and infrastructure plan that would guide future auctions and development. The effort will address utilities, transportation access, cultural constraints, high-pressure gas lines, floodplains and other site determinants.

Hawkes said the city expects to assemble technical reports and begin formal planned-community-district (PCD) zoning review in the fall, hold community meetings in October, begin planning-and-zoning hearings in the first quarter of 2026 and seek council adoption of the entitlement in early 2026.

Council member Matt Bullock asked whether Parcel C is saleable in isolation; Hawkes said the State Land Department is likely to package lower-value strips into larger auctions and that Parcel C could count toward required open-space allocations for adjacent development.

The public hearing was opened and closed with no public speakers on Parcel C. Because the item is an annexation of state trust land, Hawkes noted approvals by the State Selection Board and the land commissioner are part of the process; the selection board previously authorized parcels in 2019. The annexation process requires filing a blank petition and a 30‑day holding period before signature collection and final submittal to the county recorder; the city has started that sequence.

No action was taken at the June 17 meeting; the council expects to consider annexation and translational zoning at its Aug. 5 meeting.