El Mirage loses bid in annexation appeal

An Arizona Court of Appeals panel on Thursday denied El Mirage's appeal of a decision last year upholding Glendale's annexation of 40 square miles in the 1970s.

Following the 2007 decision, El Mirage appealed the ruling, but the panel rejected the city's argument.

Troy Corder, an El Mirage spokesman, said the city is disappointed with the court's decision.

"The city continues to believe that the annexation in question was executed during an illegal public meeting and should be rendered null and void," he said. "We are currently exploring all of our legal options and will make a final decision on how to proceed with the case in the next 30 days."

The annexed land is bound by 107th Avenue to the east, Perryville Road to the west, Peoria Avenue to the north and Camelback Road to the south.

El Mirage officials are looking at land south and west of their current borders to build commercial and office space the city is lacking. It would provide a boost to the city's coffers through sales taxes, which are the primary sources of income cities use to run their day-to-day operations.

El Mirage has nearly finished with its housing developments but has virtually no land left to develop commercial or retail centers other than a few corners at intersections.

The parcel in question was annexed in the 1970s, when strip annexation was legal under state law. It was outlawed later but not until some cities staked boundaries.

Surprise, Goodyear, Glendale and El Mirage share boundaries with the disputed land.

El Mirage sued Glendale in November 2006, alleging its strip annexation three decades ago was illegal because Glendale violated the Opening Meetings Law.

Glendale officials have said the annexation was done properly, and the actions of the council at that time were consistent with state law. They maintain their city borders much of the land in the area, both through the strip annexation and through its city boundaries. They also say, according to their research, the meeting was properly noticed in 1978 and there were advertisements and announcements about the pending annexation following approval by the council.

Much of the land in question will have severely restricted uses under state law designed to protect nearby Luke Air Force Base.