Voters in San Tan Valley, Arizona, an unincorporated area of Pinal County, will decide Proposition 495, which would incorporate the town, on August 5.

San Tan Valley is situated southwest of the Phoenix metropolitan area, between the towns of Queen Creek and Florence, with a population exceeding 100,000 residents. If the measure is approved, San Tan Valley would become the 92nd incorporated municipality in Arizona.

Several attempts have been made to incorporate the town previously. The first attempt, which proposed the name of San Tan, was in 2004. Before 2022, incorporation proposals required approval from towns within six miles of the proposed municipality. The town council of Florence, which is to the southwest of San Tan Valley, vetoed the 2004 proposal. A 2010 attempt to incorporate the town was also vetoed by the town council of Florence, and a 2018 attempt was rejected by the Pinal County Board of Supervisors due to a defective petition application. 

In 2022, then-Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed House Bill 2455, which modified the process for municipal incorporation in Arizona. The law removed the authority of most external entities to veto incorporation efforts.

Due to these changes to state law, only Gilbert and Mesa, as the largest cities neighboring San Tan Valley, were required to approve the petition for Proposition 495. The Gilbert City Council unanimously passed a resolution granting approval on Aug. 6, 2024. A few weeks later, on Aug. 19, Mesa City Council unanimously approved a resolution.

The incorporation initiative is supported by multiple city leaders in the Phoenix metro area, including Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke and Queen Creek Mayor Julia Wheatley.

San Tan Valley Inc. is the committee leading the campaign in support of the initiative. A statement on their campaign website states, “San Tan Valley pays taxes that fund other communities and we lack proper representation. Incorporation brings our tax money to fund our neighborhoods and roads. It gives us a fully local representation.”

In addition, Sal DiCiccio, a former Phoenix City Councilmember, supports the initiative to incorporate the town. He said, “As someone who has fought for transparency and fiscal responsibility in Phoenix, I can tell you this: it makes zero sense for San Tan Valley residents to send over $10 Million of their tax dollars every year to a city that’s miles away and doesn’t represent them. That money should be building your roads, your parks, and your families – not funding the politics and priorities of Phoenix. It’s time for San Tan Valley to invest in itself.”

Ballotpedia has not identified a campaign against the initiative. However, some residents of San Tan Valley voiced opposition to the town’s incorporation. Gary Rhein, a resident of San Tan Valley, expressed concern about how incorporation would affect the cost of living. He said, “I need to know [if]… my cost of living is going to go up if we incorporate versus what I’m paying now.”

Only voters who live in the proposed boundaries of San Tan Valley are permitted to vote in the August 5 election. Click here to see the proposed boundaries of San Tan Valley and to read more information about Proposition 495. 

Earlier this year, voters in an unincorporated area of Cameron County, Texas, considered an initiative to establish the city of Starbase, a community of about 500 residents that includes the SpaceX headquarters. That measure received 97.3% of the vote.