City acquires land for fire station south of town

Maricopa’s pre-annexation of 5,700 acres south and west of city limits this year is beginning to pay benefits.

The city has acquired 2.5 acres south of West Papago Road and east of North John Wayne Parkway on which it will build a fire station to serve the annexed area and potentially areas within the city limits. The city paid $137,500 for the land.

“(The fire station) will be owned by the city,” said Government Relations and Communications Director Quinn Konold. “It will serve the area of the South Maricopa Fire Association south of current city limits. However, it can be used to serve within city limits as needs require.”

When annexing land, the city is obligated to provide city services, such as police, fire and trash collection. That process is beginning despite the land still being in the pre-annexation process, according to Konold.

“The city will be providing fire service to the area immediately, however, the actual building of the fire station is on the separate timeline,” he said. “The city is collecting fees from the South Maricopa Fire Association. Once the city collects $2.5 million, the city will begin construction on the fire station within a six-month period. Since fee collection is based on development in the area, there is no definitive timeline on when the station will be built.”

Konold said that as part of the purchase agreement, the city is required to use this land for of a fire station.

Maricopa City Manager Rick Horst said at the Council meeting in September when the pre-annexation was approved that the process had been underway for about nine months. He added that property owners were concerned about having fire services, which they are required by state statute to have to develop the land.

He noted during the approval hearing that the annexation came at the request of those property owners.

“I do want to indicate that these lands are represented by the landowners, and they are voluntarily moving into these agreements,” Horst said at the council meeting. “We do respect the fact that landowners have the right to choose what they want to do with their property.”

Horst added that pre-annexation provides physical, financial and legal protections for landowners through impact fees, which do not impact current landowners because they are assessed only on new development.

“This assures that property owners and future homeowners who buy homes on that land will pay for those services through development and impact fees, while current residents will not be financially impacted,” Horst said.