Possible Mesa annexations along Ellsworth reach signature phase

The process of gathering signatures to request the annexation of more than 200 acres of Maricopa County land is ready to start.

At its Aug. 17 meeting, the Mesa City Council held hearings giving notice to the public that property owners’ plan to be gathering signatures to annex 196 acres at the northeast corner of South Ellsworth Road and East Williams Field Road, and 5 acres at the southwest corner of East Williams Field Road and State Route 24.

“It’s basically a notice hearing that’s from a statute that the state passed decades ago to just make sure that the public is aware of an annexation of property,” City Attorney Jim Smith said at the council meeting.

The owners of the two properties have one year to collect signatures after which the matter will go before the council for action.

The 196-acre property, worth more than $1.3 million according to a staff report, is owned by Pacific Proving LLC and Mesa BA Land LLC. The 5-acre property, worth $281,835, is owned by Pacific Proving.

Both properties are zoned light industrial by the county and per state statute must receive the equivalent zoning from the city if annexation is approved.

If Mesa annexes the properties, Mesa will supply water, sewer and gas utilities.

“Utilities and city services are already provided in the area and extension of these services will have minimal impact on the city,” the report stated.

During the public hearing, a resident raised questions about what type of development would be erected on the properties.

“My concern here is that the owner, Pacific Proving LLC, has also been noted as spending money on data centers,” Marjorie Gomez told the council. “Because of this concern of wanting to have some transparency and accountability for how all of the money is being spent, I think that there should be some additional requirements just to make sure that all of the money that is being spent is going toward services that improve things for the people in Mesa.”

City Manager Scott Butler said the properties would not house data centers.

“Without saying too much, this is a project we’ve been working on for quite a while,” Vice Mayor Scott Somers said. “So, stay tuned. But your fears will be set aside. I guarantee.”

Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org. Please send your comments about this article to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.