BNSF Railway has cleared the first voting hurdle for its $3.2 billion rail and logistics center set to rise across 4,300 acres in Arizona.During its Nov. 7 meeting, the Maricopa County planning and zoning commission recommended approval for a comprehensive plan amendment for 839 acres of the BNSF property, now called Logistics Park Phoenix. That will go before the Board of Supervisors for a final vote on Dec. 11.The comprehensive plan amendment application was submitted to correct a technical error that had removed a portion of BNSF’s property from an industrial land use designation in Maricopa County’s White Tank Grand Avenue Area Plan.Following the Board of Supervisors vote, the county will continue working with Dallas-based BNSF on a separate zoning case for the overall property that isn’t expected to move forward until the spring of 2025.The Texas rail giant expects to start construction next year after rezoning the site in order to be operational by 2028. Over the next decade it plans to develop an intermodal hub – where freight is transferred between train and truck – as well as a logistics park with 18 million square feet of warehouse space and 1,100 acres of rail-served land.The BNSF project is set to be developed along Grand Avenue just outside the city of Surprise in rural areas such as Wittmann. Surrounding residents have strongly opposed the development since the company first invested in the area; community members attended the Nov. 7 meeting to voice displeasure about BNSF’s plans for the largest rural acreage.City leaders worry over project’s impacts to traffic, waterAs BNSF pushes its 4,300-acre project through Maricopa County, city of Surprise leaders have also raised issues over the development’s potential impact to public safety, water and transportation.The city’s mayor-elect, Kevin Sartor, and Councilmember Nick Haney submitted letters to Maricopa County on Nov. 6 to address their concerns as the project moves through the zoning application.”While I recognize the potential economic benefits this facility could bring, I am deeply concerned about the strain it will place on our existing transportation infrastructure, which already fails to meet the demands of our growing community,” Sartor said in a letter.A new traffic impact study for BNSF’s project estimated that the development will see 2,734 trips on a typical weekday by 2028 and increase to 22,749 by 2038 including cars and trucks. It said that a large portion of the trucks would also only interact within the development as opposed to the surrounding transportation network.Haney argued in his letter that the traffic study does not account for the growth of the area and said that current traffic volumes in the area “far exceed the capacity of the transportation network, leading to long delays and collisions. The transportation network, he said, is “grossly overburdened.””We need to ensure that the required infrastructure is appropriate for a development this size and is constructed … to mitigate the impacts on the entire transportation system in north Surprise,” he said in the letter.Water was also addressed in Haney’s letter. While BNSF plans to use groundwater rights to support its project, Haney said the development will not be required to replenish the groundwater it takes out. He requested that the company conduct an analysis on well impacts in the area and commit to replenishing the local aquifer.”The magnitude of this project demands not just careful study, but a collaborative commitment to our community’s future regardless of jurisdiction,” Haney said. “The decisions made during this process will shape the lives of countless residents and determine the impact to our infrastructure, safety and resources for years to come.”BNSF earlier this year had pivoted from its initial plans to rezone and annex its property in the city of Surprise and instead applied through Maricopa County due to timing concerns.Even if rezoned and developed through Maricopa County, the county’s staff have said it prefers that BNSF annex its property in Surprise to access municipal services.Sign up here for the Phoenix Business Journal’s free newsletters, and download our free app for breaking news alerts.
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