In 2024, voters may have the opportunity to decide whether to make Pinal County’s largest unincorporated community, Santan Valley, a municipality.
According to an April 12 letter of intent delivered to the Pinal County Board of Supervisors, a group of Santan Valley residents formed a commission, STV Inc. 2024, to petition to incorporate the county area.
At Wednesday’s meeting, members of the group told supervisors that organizers intend to speak with communities and neighbors in nearby cities to get feedback and develop plans.
Tyler Hudgins, one of the residents behind the effort, said the boundaries of the proposed municipality remain undecided. He said residents are seeking incorporation to ensure local control of taxes and to address issues such as “water, transportation and development.”
As an unincorporated area, the San Tan Valley is dependent on county government and services, and the Board is currently deciding how to address these issues. But housing prices in the Phoenix metropolitan area have skyrocketed, and residents and county officials have long expressed concern about growing beyond roads, services, and unincorporated status. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population has surged to about 100,000.
The entire population of Santan Valley may not be within the final boundaries of the Incorporation Bid. Still, if incorporated, the community is likely to become the largest city in Pinal County.
Two Potential Paths to Incorporation
Hudgins called the commission “in the investigation stage” and emphasized that the incorporation process is still in its early stages.
The group is currently arranging meetings with officials from Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction, he said.
As the group meets with neighbors and stakeholders, Hudgins and other members work to develop proposed boundaries, develop budgets, and plan services for potential municipalities. increase. Once a formal plan is in place, the commission can seek incorporation either by a vote of county supervisors or by election of Santan Valley voters.
Incorporation by the county supervisor requires the sponsor of the committee to produce the signatures of two-thirds of the registered voters within the boundaries of the area. Incorporation by direct election requires only her 10% of registered voters to sign.
The group’s notice of intent states that the committee will take the initiative in a November 2024 vote to seek to “allow the community to determine the future of Santan Valley.”
In that case, the founder must submit signatures to the county supervisor, who will tally the number of valid signatures. If the group reaches her 10% threshold, the board will greenlight the election, and voters within the boundaries of the proposed municipality will choose whether to incorporate or not.
Failed Incorporation History
A previous incorporation effort in Santan Valley failed and came under fire before it even entered the voter ballot.
Most recently, in 2018, Encantera’s developers got bogged down when they announced that they would not allow their community to be included in their proposed municipality. At the time, state law stipulated that the incorporation process required organizers to notify developers and homeowners associations separately. An unnotified entity could opt out of the proposed boundaries and undermine your incorporation efforts.
That provision changed last year and now requires promoters to address the county board of oversight meeting agenda and notify all parties six months in advance. Entities can still opt out, but they will no longer be able to stop their incorporation efforts.
Other bids to incorporate the San Tan Valley faced opposition from nearby cities. State law previously allowed existing cities or towns within six miles of a proposed incorporation to block it, but this provision was removed in 2017.
Meanwhile, neighboring municipalities of unincorporated communities have annexed chunks of the area to their boundaries.
Sasha Hupka covers regional affairs for Maricopa County, Pinal County, and the Republic of Arizona.Any thoughts on incorporating Santa Valley? Contact her sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.comFollow her on Twitter. @SashaHupka.
