Land battle: San Luis fights City of Yuma’s land annex

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Plans by the City of Yuma to annex about 12 square miles next to the San Luis city limit could set up a legal battle.

It all started in 2020, when mayors of both San Luis and Yuma signed an agreement, allowing Yuma to annex all or any land east of Avenue A and a half-mile north of the international boundary.

And allows San Luis to annex any land west of Avenue A and a half-mile north of the border.

However, in Wednesday night's San Luis City Council meeting, Mayor Nieves Riedel, said Southwest Gas, who is the only taxpayer in the land area, has retracted its signature from the annexation agreement between cities.

This after Riedel sent a letter to the gas company saying, "This creates the obvious image of Southwest Gas discriminating against a majority-minority community. It also will hinder the future growth and development of the City of San Luis. I would ask that Southwest Gas reconsider and withdraw its signature."

We reached out to the City of Yuma regarding the issue and said they are not available for comment at this time.

The City of Yuma plans to use this land as a safety barrier around the new spaceport project, located just east of San Luis on a plot of land it owns, which is near the border, and right next to the Arizona State Prison complex.

The barrier land area intended to be annexed extends from Avenue A East to Avenue 4E and from the border north to County 24th Street and is owned by the United States.