Florence council urges formal annexation policy as San Tan Valley grows

Mayor Eaton opened a work‑session discussion about annexation on Oct. 13 as Florence watches nearby incorporations and potential shifts in tax revenue. Town consultant Larry Harmer told the council that “processing an annexation in Arizona is not an overnight process by any stretch of the imagination,” and cited Arizona Revised Statutes 9‑4‑71 on contiguity and procedural requirements.

Harmer said annexations must be contiguous to existing corporate limits, cannot create county islands and require a 10‑year service plan showing how the town will provide water, sewer, police and fire service. “Depending on the number of properties, the configuration, [and] number of owners involved, annexations can take as much as 18 months,” Harmer said, and noted that state trust land adds substantial time: “If state land is involved, you could be looking at as much as a 2 year to 36 month time period.”

Council members discussed where the town should be proactive. Vice Mayor Adam and others urged a short timetable: staff estimated a draft policy could be provided in roughly 30 days. Council member Neal asked staff to include cost‑benefit analyses showing 10‑ to 15‑year revenue and expense projections for candidate areas, and Council member Maldonado emphasized protections for existing uses in semi‑rural areas, saying the town should clarify how long current activities (for example, keeping horses) would be grandfathered if zoning changes on annexation.

Town staff said past annexations were typically single‑owner cases that did not require a formal town policy, and recommended that a new policy spell out when the town would initiate annexation versus when it would wait for a property owner petition; who pays for right‑of‑way, petition gathering and legal advertising; and priorities for short, mid and long‑term annexation targets. Harmer and staff also urged GIS analysis to confirm contiguousness and minimum dimension rules before formal proceedings.

No formal vote was taken; council members expressed consensus direction to staff to draft a formal annexation policy and return it for further council review. The record shows staff said they would consult state‑land procedures and provide an annexation policy draft and associated cost‑benefit information within about 30 days.