The current general plans calls for the eventual annexation of Anthem. The City should rethink this. Anthem is simply too far removed from the rest of the city to share in its vision and priorities. In fact, I suspect many Anthem residents value their separation from Phoenix and would rather not be absorbed into the big city they are trying to avoid.

Even if Anthem residents do want to be annexed, it's questionable whether this action would be in the city's interests. By annexing Anthem, Phoenix would be tacitly blessing the type of leapfrog development Anthem embodies. In addition, the city would be further stretching its resources to provide services to points more distant from its core. Those resources should be invested instead in stabilizing long-established neighborhoods and in extending needed services to areas that are recently annexed and much closer to Downtown (e.g. Laveen).

Anthem may choose to incorporate on its own or perhaps it will be annexed by Glendale or Peoria. Let that be a choice made by those parties. Phoenix has grown as far north as it needs to.