How annexation changed Phoenix

Annexation was intended to save Phoenix. It may end up badly wounding it.

The roots of growing fast by annexing land go back to the 1940s. Phoenix had grown from its original half-square-mile to 9.6 square miles in 1940, with a population of 65,414. It was surrounded by agriculture and well separated from small farm towns such as Glendale, Tempe and Mesa.

But even before the old city commission was swept away by the "reformist" Charter Government Movement, leaders looked east and worried. They knew the Salt River Valley would grow, especially once World War II ended.

They saw how cities in the Midwest and east (St. Louis, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, etc.) had become surrounded by incorporated suburbs that were already sucking away people and tax dollars. They, and all their successors, were determined not to repeat that mistake.

In addition, the abundant, mostly flat land of the Valley had numerous unincorporated settlements. Also, the War Department had decentralized training bases and war plants in the early 1940s — sites that could become future towns and urban nodes. Virtually none was within the city limits.

Interestingly, considering the worry about white flight "back east," most of the barrios and African-American neighborhoods were also in unincorporated areas south and southeast of downtown.

Early annexation was small and piecemeal, often fought in court and the Legislature by land owners. One big battle was over absorbing the Phoenix Country Club and its surrounding neighborhoods into the city. On the pro side was a department store executive and aspiring politician named Barry Goldwater, soon to be a city councilman. Still, by 1950, when Phoenix claimed 106,818 residents, it had only expanded to around 17 square miles. This is the compact old city about which I often reflect.

Annexation took off in the 1950s. In 1956, the city limits ran from just west of 27th Avenue to 40th Street (at the farthest) west-to-east. In the south, aside from one dog-leg portion, the city limits didn't go beyond the Southern Pacific tracks. Neither the SP's freight yard nor Sky Harbor Airport were within the boundaries of Phoenix. The Grand Canal and Campbell Street marked the northern city limits. But after an aggressive attempt by Scottsdale to annex west to 40th Street, Phoenix leaders got serious and the acquired territories grew from being measured in acres to square miles.

By 1960, Phoenix was 185 square miles, 439,170 people. Even south Phoenix was added that year.

II.

One of the biggest annexation "victories" was successfully absorbing Sunnyslope in 1959. Although "the Slope" had begun as a rustic hideout and then a Hooverville, by the '50s, it had its own business and civic organizations, shops and restaurants on Dunlap, Hatcher and around the Five Points intersections. More affluent houses were being built, including a deed-restricted subdivision to keep out the minorities.

Of all the areas Phoenix would annex, Sunnyslope came the closest to being a real, stand-alone town. The Slope was done in by the pre-Tea Party veto voters who didn't want their taxes to rise or for government to interfere with their desert idyl. Repeated incorporation measures were defeated. Phoenix moved in.

Another coup was Maryvale, although builder John F. Long never resisted the city and indeed became a councilman. Phoenix also had a small range war with Scottsdale, which wanted to annex all the way to 40th Street, a sign of a much bigger fight to come.

Outside the Longbranch Tavern at 20th Street and Indian School in the early 1960s, the challenges of annexation are apparent: no curbs or gutters and, unseen, inferior sewer and water systems.

Even from the start, however, annexation was problematic. It cost money to extend city services. In many cases, the subdivisions being absorbed had lower building code standards. Although Phoenix started to sell bonds in the late 1940s to cover some of these costs, it was still a relatively poor farm town.

The annexations of the 1950s also saw the coherence of the city start to fall away, even though downtown and Central Avenue remained booming. That wouldn't last. With a combination of the auto age and cheap gas, leapfrog development and malls, the city's heart would begin a long decline.

The paradox: Annexation had been sold as a way to preserve the core by preventing encirclement.

By 1960s, however, the peculiar levitation act had begun, as fast population growth kept the economy thriving and the city's geographical growth seemed inspired. What's easily forgotten is that Phoenix also had a more diverse economy than today and better paying jobs thanks to the visionary recruitment of technology and defense companies by local stewards.

The concern about encirclement continued. Starting in the 1970s, Phoenix used "strip annexation" to head off Avondale and Tolleson to the west. Thanks to a loophole in state law, a city could annex a strip as narrow as 20 feet wide; once done, another city couldn't cross it. The county still had to provide services inside the strip.

The city also continued to move north aggressively against Scottsdale. Here began what Phoenix Mayor Terry Goddard called the "blood sport" of annexing to preserve tax dollars from retailers and auto dealers that kept moving farther out.

Once upon a time in the '70s, when it was a two-lane highway, Bell Road was set by planners as the absolute northern boundary of Phoenix. This was long after the city had leapt out of the Salt River Valley proper into the Paradise Valley section beyond Dreamy Draw and into Moon Valley and Deer Valley and beyond toward the Yavapai County line.

But with so much land, no sensible land-use restrictions and few natural barriers, the development continued and more annexation followed.

Providing advanced city services proved impossible, no matter the gloss of "urban villages" put on the map. The Valtrans initiative in 1989, which would have included light rail and heavy commuter rail, was voted down. Since then, most of the city has been "served" by minimal bus routes on long-wait schedules.

Other cities took their cues from Phoenix. Chandler strip annexed out Chandler Road to I-10. By a fluke, Phoenix, not Tempe, got Ahwatukee. Bell Road was left far behind. This was not the Unigov experiment of Indianapolis, merging city and county government. It was just an increasingly costly and pointless land run.

III.

Now, at 518 square miles and the nation's fifth most populous city, few in city leadership would advocate more annexation. Phoenix stretches from the Gila River Indian Reservation to the south to Wander Lane, beyond Anthem, to the north. (Anthem, with its inferior infrastructure, will never become part of the city — and a good thing, too). A piece of the city runs as far west as the Agua Fria River.

The treadmill to avoid encirclement ultimately didn't prevent just that, and by suburbs much more populous and powerful in the Legislature than is common elsewhere. They have taken much capital investment, many assets and affluent white flight, all of Phoenix's annexation notwithstanding. The city is left with scores of miles of linear slums, aging badly, and the problem growing worse every year. As of March 2015, the city faced a $7 billion bill merely to fill potholes.

Size ultimately didn't trump quality.

Denver, for example, far outpaces Phoenix economically, but was banned from further annexation by a constitutional amendment in 1974 (it gained land for the new airport in the 1990s). This limitation forced Denver to build and retain a great city within its ample 153 square miles.

Sadly, Phoenix, so besotted with population growth, failed to fill in the rest. The thinking once was that it would naturally follow. Nor did the growth ultimately pay for itself, another article of faith. Huge costs remain from absorbing so much land with no means to pay for real urban infrastructure, much less deal with cheap subdivisions that have become linear slums.

As for Desert Ridge, although it attracts affluent suburbanites and cuts off Scottsdale, it is as much a burden in services and demands. Its residents have little connection to, or interest in, the city at large or downtown.

Now Buckeye claims 375 square miles for its 51,000 residents. But climate change and water scarcity will ensure this former little farm town doesn't get the boon that Phoenix enjoyed in the last half of the 20th century. It would be funny if it weren't so tragic.

When the city limits were 28th Street and Van Buren, 1940s.

The Phoenix city limits circa 1956 (Brad Hall collection).

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My book, A Brief History of Phoenix, is available to buy or order at your local independent bookstore, or from Amazon.

Read more in Rogue's Phoenix and Arizona history archive.

 

Comments

[phxSUNSfan]

If Phoenix leadership would have been more forward thinking in the 60's and 70's the land annexed and purchased in the past would have been converted into preserve and parkland as they are doing now:

http://www.azcentral.com/community/northvalley/articles/2012/04/18/20120418phoenix-hopes-add-wash-areas-preserve.html

Phoenix did avoid becoming "encircled" by suburbs to the north and south and this probably staved off Glendale/Peoria/Chandler-like development between Northern and the 101. Most of the land north of the 101 is open desert being converted to preserve land as the State Land Department opens the property to bidders. Phoenix is often the only bidder...or offers enough for the land to scare off developers thanks to the "voter approved Phoenix Parks and Preserves Initiative and a matching state Growing Smarter grant, established to enable cities to buy land for open space."

It would be nice if we actually knew how much land was undeveloped within the city limits. From eyeballing maps of preserve land, state land (undeveloped), and parks it seems that a great deal of Phoenix's vast square mileage is left untouched and likely will be with the city's preservation and "open deserts" initiatives.

[phxSUNSfan]

I meant to write that land between Carefree and the 101 would have encircled Phoenix with Chandler-like development.

[cal Lash]

interesting timing Jon. i got an email from the phoenix mayor this am and responded with a short note resembling this blog

[Savagely Cautious]

When I was working in software in Phoenix the mid-90s, I had a young friend who each day travelled 60 miles to work in Auwatukee from Glendale to feed his growing family. His minimum of an hour on the road each day seemed a terrible sacrifice to me. But then again, in retrospect, I didn't have yappy kids at home.

[cal Lash]

A cut and paste.

-Original Message-----
From: Mayor Stanton
To: coper1658
Sent: Mon, Jul 30, 2012 1:31 pm
Subject: What is sequestration?

Friends,
I had the opportunity in the last three months to fight against a serious threat to Arizona's economy - sequestration. This type of massive federal budget cut could eliminate 50,000 jobs in Arizona. I’m working to make sure that doesn’t happen. The below Arizona Republic story offers a good explanation on this issue. Click on the link to find out more.

Thank you,

Mayor Stanton, I have supported your campaign from the get go and still do however I am not sure what you are after when you say ARIZONA is going to loose 50,000 jobs.
How many are in Phoenix? And I am not in favor of more jobs but in favor of less people and infill as to new outlying construction.
I have been around Phoenix since 1950 and remember when it was a nice TOWN.
A town where the tallest building was The Hotel Westward Ho and most houses were one story.
If I was in charge Arizona would become a Federal wilderness.
cal lash

----

[cal Lash]

Jon is the photo Central avenue?

[H. Wren]

Just to note: the Colorado Legislature did not vote to remove Denver's powers of annexation. The Poundstone Amendment, which made it well-nigh impossible for the city to annex more land, was a ballot initiative that was created by conservative activists from the Denver suburbs, and was passed by Colorado voters in the 1974 election.

[Rogue Columnist]

Thanks, H. Wren. Corrected.
Cal -- Don't know. Looks far north to me.

[morecleanair]

Point of reference: there were less than a million people hereabouts when we rolled in from Minn-e-sota in early 1969. Today there are about 4.5 million . . . those of whom have not left town for at least part of the summer. By October, the seasonal residents and renters will filter back in. We all know the drill here and Jon has written in detail about the pervasive sense of root-less-ness.

While I have a retailer's appreciation of the "seasonals" and their huge economic impact, I still kinda resent them because they often have an unenlightened 1950's kind of value system. But that's the way it is. Looking forward, I'm fairly optimistic that our political dial will gradually tilt more toward the center as some of the Kooks and the geezers fade from the scene. (Hope I'm around to savor this because I am reluctantly enrolled in demographic geezer-dom, with 95% of the US younger than me1)

[Emil Pulsifer]

phxSUNSfan wrote:

"Most of the land north of the 101 is open desert being converted to preserve land as the State Land Department opens the property to bidders. Phoenix is often the only bidder..."

From a recent news article about attempts to establish a rail yard with state trust land:

"Union Pacific wants to buy the site from the Arizona State Land Department, something observers say could happen early next year.

"...No other prospective buyer has expressed interest in the property, State Land Commissioner Maria Baier said. But that doesn't mean a sale is necessarily the best option.

"...The Land Department is bound by law to get the best value for land it auctions. It's required to seek buyers offering the highest and best use of state-owned land. The proceeds go into a trust, which provides the lion's share of its profits to public education.

"Red Rock is not a traditional sale, Baier said. More commonly, before the real-estate bubble, auctions were generally won by big developers buying land on the edge of metropolitan Phoenix for master-planned communities."

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2012/07/01/20120701picacho-peak-train-yard-sought.html

Apparently, the traditional purpose of state land trust auctions has been to facilitate exurban "master-planned communities".

I saw nothing in this or other recent articles indicating that the State Land Department has changed its priorities. All indications are that they're simply waiting for the housing/economic problems to heal so that they can start marketing to developers again.

[phxSUNSfan]

Emil, Phoenix wouldn't be interested in state trust land miles outside of the immediate urban area and within reach of city limits. Red Rock is on the other side of the Gila River Indian Community; Picacho Peak is about 60 miles from Phoenix.

Likewise, much of the state land sold for master planned development has been in the SE Valley (east and south of Mesa) and again, completely outside of Phoenix's purview in terms of annexation and using their voter approved funds for city parks and preservation.

The approach Phoenix is taking with state land in its northern boundary is to use funds appropriated for open spaces and to preserve the land for recreation, open desert wildlife corridors, and to buffer land from development.

[Emil Pulsifer]

Actually, phxSUNSfan, most state trust land in and around (and near) Phoenix is also being sold to developers. That's why the State Land Trust Commissioner called such sales the "traditional" use of state trust land (also note her comments below). Some examples:

"A regional-mall site intended for Westcor's Palisene project is going back to the Arizona State Land Department. Westcor and the Land Department reached an agreement last week to end Westcor's 99-year lease of 112 acres of state trust land northwest of Scottsdale Road and Loop 101. 'We're getting the piece back intact,' state Land Commissioner Maria Baier said. 'It's ready for the next healthy market.' The property can be auctioned again as the commercial real-estate market recovers, Baier said. Baier said Westcor had planned on recovering infrastructure costs from Phoenix but that was no longer possible after Arizona Supreme Court rulings on development agreements involving CityNorth at 56th Street and Loop 101. The court in 2010 put strict limits on municipal tax incentives to ensure there is clear public benefit."

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2012/06/05/20120605westcor-turns-back-state-land-palisene.html

"A development group planning to build two cardealerships in Scottsdale was the winning and only bidder Tuesday for 29 acres of state trust land that sold for $10.2 million"

http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/2012/05/15/20120515state-land-near-scottsdale-road-loop-sold-10-million.html

The Land Commissioner will hold three other auctions on Wednesday, including the sale of 160 acres of prime residential land at 56th St. and Dixileta Drive in Phoenix. The auction is expected to generate significant competition among Valley homebuilders. (From 2004)

http://www.azwater.gov/AzDWR/SurfaceWater/Adjudications/documents/InReStateTrustLands/BHP%20Copper%20Disclosure/BHPSL002.pdf

"Stanton announced a new “Desert Ridge Bio-science and Technology Collaborative” to pursue the continued development of Mayo Clinic’s existing 210-acre campus in north Phoenix to its full capacity. Partnering with Mayo, Arizona State University and the private sector, Stanton said Phoenix will work to attract complementary uses around the Mayo Clinic on more than 400 acres of mostly State Trust land focusing on higher education, research and development and technology-based jobs."

http://phoenix.gov/news/010312stanton.html

[phxSUNSfan]

"Actually, phxSUNSfan, most state trust land in and around (and near) Phoenix is also being sold to developers. That's why the State Land Trust Commissioner called such sales the 'traditional' use of state trust land (also note her comments below)." -Emil

Not to be the thorn in your side that won't go away, but you are comparing a few hundred acres of state trust land near already developed destinations and comparing them to tens of thousands of acres the City of Phoenix has purchased from the state and converted to parkland and preserves.

One of your examples was a few hundred acres in N. Scottsdale, again outside of Phoenix' purview. Another example is from 2004 before the City began investing money from the voter approved initiative for open spaces (first approved in 2006, extended for 30 years in 2008). To be clear, I was specific in mentioning that the city is turning much of the state trust land it purchases north of the 101 into open space; the new Mayo Biomed Campus is approximately 2 miles south of Desert Ridge (well within the Loop 101 boundary).

Scottsdale has even gotten in the mix and has begun purchasing and preserving thousands of acres (2,500 acres) of former state trust land for open space:

"The land acquisition at an Arizona State Land Department auction follows the city's successful bid a week ago for more than 1,900 acres of trust land for $41 million for the preserve."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/12/14/20111214scottsdale-buys-acres-mcdowell-sonoran-preserve.html

Scottsdale will be acquiring more land from the state in the future, mirroring Phoenix' actions, due to a similar bond initiative passed by Scottsdale voters:

"The city will sell general obligation bonds to pay for its portion of the land deals. The bonds are backed by a portion of city sales tax approved by voters for preserve acquisition."

[Phx Planner]

Good post and discussion. The State Land Department would be a good Phoenix 101 topic in the future.

[SD Mittelsteadt]

Whenever I think about annexation, I'm reminded of the dumb-ass dependency on sales tax as the primary revenue source, and a report that came out in 1999 or so predicting that the suburbs will become the new slums as contraction hits America's cities.