Currently, NE 126th Avenue in Polk County between Elkhart and just north of Polk City is a paved but rural drive, and the I-35 interchange is undeveloped. That could change soon if Ankeny has its way.
Ankeny, which just passed West Des Moines as Des Moines’ largest suburb, approved an annexation plan on its far north side, including the west side of the Elkhart exit, the Register reported this week. It’s so far north that the area has Alleman addresses and is in the North Polk school district (the boundary is NE 118th Avenue, a mile south of NE 126th).
And Alleman is getting nervous. It has an annexation plan that directly conflicts with Ankeny’s, in an attempt to keep the latter at arm’s length. Alleman is so tiny that it doesn’t have the tax base to keep up with the infrastructure pressures. The Register says there could be dueling annexation plans going to the City Development Board, which is in charge of approving them.
Unlike in Nebraska (RIP Elkhorn*), Alleman is not at risk of being swallowed up by Ankeny — legally, anyway. But it is at risk of unwanted, uncontrollable growth too close for comfort.
There’s plenty of land Ankeny could annex that wouldn’t interfere with other incorporated communities, but it’s already full of homes and businesses, and 80% of any selected area would have to favor annexation. Saylorville is a Census Designated Place, but that has no meaning except to the Census Bureau.
So the finger of NW 16th Street that includes Ankeny First United Methodist Church is less at risk of being added to Ankeny than farmland that as little as 20 years ago was miles away from the city.
*The linked column says Des Moines is “hemmed in”. That’s literally true on three of four sides, but on the fourth only from a certain point of view. It can annex north of Aurora Avenue … if it can get 80% of landowners to believe that being part of the city has benefits over being “rural Polk County”.