When State Route 24 is constructed east from Ellsworth Road to Ironwood Drive, it will be the dividing line between the municipalities of Apache Junction and Queen Creek.

Drivers in Mesa on Loop 202 Santan Freeway can take SR24, the Gateway Freeway, south to the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and east to Ellsworth Road, south of East Williams Field Road. Plans to extend it to Ironwood have construction beginning in 2020. Future plans show it eventually extending east to outside Gold Canyon, according to azmag.gov.

State Trust land

Until recently, Apache Junction and Queen Creek were separated by miles of State Trust land.

The Arizona State Land Department manages approximately 9.2 million acres of State Trust lands within Arizona. These lands were granted to the state under the provisions of the federal Enabling Act that provided for Arizona’s statehood in 1912. These lands are held in trust and managed for the sole purpose of generating revenues for the 13 State Trust land beneficiaries, the largest of which is Arizona’s K-12 education, according to land.az.gov.

The Arizona State Selection Board in July approved the annexation of 6,687 acres of state trust land into the City of Apache Junction. The vacant property is south of Elliot Road, west of the Central Arizona Project canal and north of where SR24 is to be constructed.

Arizona’s state land commissioner, Lisa A. Atkins, requested approval of the annexation in T1S R8E Sections 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34, all in Pinal County, according to the minutes of the selection board’s July 17 meeting.

“We’ve been working with the state land department and the private sector to open up the next great area of positive growth for our region, which will set the table for the next 20 years or so. It’s taken many years of cooperation with the state to get to this point,” Apache Junction Mayor Jeff Serdy said.

“The great thing about it is that it doesn’t affect our quiet neighborhoods to the north. It does however, open up job and housing opportunities for our residents and even eases the burden on some of San Tan Valley’s transportation issues,” he said.

At its Aug. 7 meeting, the Queen Creek Town Council approved the annexation of nearly 4,150 acres of State Trust Land from Germann Road north to the future alignment of SR24 and the CAP canal west to Meridian Road. The Arizona State Selection Board approved the town’s annexation of the property at a meeting June 11, 2018.

“This area provides important economic opportunities for the town. While the land will remain the private property of the state land department until they choose to develop, it provides connectivity to the future State Route 24. It also provides opportunities for diversification of revenues that will help support town programs and services, job opportunities and additional dining, retail and housing options,” Queen Creek Mayor Gail Barney said.

“The City of Apache Junction is a fantastic community. As regional partners, we collaborate often and look forward to the potential of being official neighbors,” he said.

Apache Junction

The City of Apache Junction includes the State Trust land to the south in its planning area. Main freeways are a planned north-south corridor from U.S. Highway 60 at approximately Mountain View Road to I-10 near Picacho, and the extension of SR24 east from Ironwood to the north-south corridor.

The south city area from Baseline Avenue to SR24 is to be a master planned community with a maximum of 20 dwelling units per acre. It is envisioned with a range of residential densities, commercial spaces, open space and industrial uses, according to proposed 2020 General Plan documents.

“The annexation of the state land is a step forward for Apache Junction. It allows us to maintain control of the land that will be north of the State Route 24,” Apache Junction Councilmember Jeff Struble said.

“This will allow us to increase our sales tax revenue and job creation in the future. It will enable us provide services to our city residence as we expand residentially and commercially to the south. We are continuously building a brighter future,” he said.

Queen Creek and Apache Junction councils met in August 2015 in part to discuss shared interests and to consider SR24 as a future border of the two communities. The councils later approved memorandums of shared intent.

“We are very grateful that the governor and the state land department recognized the need for future growth area for our community,” Apache Junction Vice Mayor Chip Wilson said.

“Now this gets the ball rolling on space that could be the next great development of business, future employment and homes in the region. It also falls along with the agreement we reached with Queen Creek over our future city boundaries,” he said.

Queen Creek

Nineteen planning areas are proposed on the approximately 4,140 acres of State Trust Land annexed into the Town of Queen Creek.

Masterplans will later be required for each planning unit prior to development, such as for transportation impacts, drainage, water, wastewater, public facilities, open space and recreation, Brett Burningham, the town’s development services director, said during a work-study session of the Queen Creek Planning and Zoning Commission.

There are 10 neighborhood planning units in 2,201 acres with the property to be annexed, such as suburban, residential, medium- and high-density residential land uses; light, general and neighborhood commercial; office mixed-use; and mixed-use, Mr. Burningham said to the commission.

The remaining nine urban planning units are on 1,935 acres generally within a half-mile of the planned SR24 corridor and include urban, medium- and high-density residential; light, general, regional and neighborhood commercial; mixed-use; and office/industrial park, he said.

“It’s exciting. What a great day when we not only preserve the small-town feel in our native area, but also expand in such a way that we connect to the freeway and benefit from all urban areas have to offer,” Queen Creek Councilmember Emilena Turley said.

The Town of Queen Creek will benefit from having access to the SR24 freeway, Councilmember Jeff Brown said.

“The recent annexation of State Trust Land into Queen Creek and the potential annexation into Apache Junction are both significant to the region. The Town of Queen Creek has been working with the state land department for many years… so it’s exciting to see the areas identified in the northern portion of our municipal planning area finally coming into the town,” he said.

“The annexation includes land that will border the future State Route 24 extension, creating a new opportunity for development in Queen Creek with freeway access. I am very much looking forward to seeing how the area will develop as the state land department auctions the various parcels of land they own,” Councilmember Brown said.

Encanterra resident Pat Aritz supports Queen Creek’s annexation of the state trust land. Pre-annexation development and water-exchange agreements with Trilogy Encanterra Construction were approved in December by the Queen Creek Town Council.

“Of course, I am not up on the general plans of either Apache Junction or Queen Creek or their budgets. As for the annexations, it seems to be in keeping with various municipalities to strategically annex as a way to grow and develop and I have no issue with either annexation assuming it meets their overall plans. It is not uncommon for annexation to happen in unincorporated areas,” he said.

“I am not nearly as familiar with Apache Junction but as for Queen Creek, this seems to fit into their progressive and successful growth pattern. They have proven quite able to plan and execute a successful expansion and have mixed a nice blend of residential and commercial properties. That mix is so vital to success to its residents; it is necessary to provide the commercial/retail outlets for both employment opportunity as well as a varied tax base,” Mr. Aritz said.

“Because of all that Queen Creek has to offer along with its continued, well-planned expansion, I fully support this annexation. They have the ability to provide the necessities and amenities that its citizens desire,” he said.