Carrie and Richard Winter moved to their Wittmann home about two years ago. They liked the sleepy town vibe that the small unincorporated community, about 50 miles northwest of downtown Phoenix, had to offer. “We were tired of the city and the noise, and we just wanted a chunk of property and a home — a custom home — to call our own,” Carrie said. The couple work at a Phoenix hospital as nurses. While Carrie acknowledged that they don’t care for the commute, “we love where we live.” “It’s so serene, so peaceful, it’s quiet, it’s dark,” Richard added. “You can actually see the stars.” While the Winters left the city life of metro Phoenix, the city will soon be coming to them. The railroad giant BNSF plans to develop a sprawling intermodal complex on its 4,300-acre property in Wittmann. It will surround the Winters’ and their neighbors’ homes, threatening their way of life, they said. “It’s that peace and serenity that we have out here, and it’s because of this (project) that it’s all gone. I’m not going to have that,” Richard said. Laura Deaver, whose property abuts BNSF’s land, said a natural wash that crosses her property and the BNSF site could lead to drainage issues and flooding if the development doesn’t handle water flow properly. She also mourns the loss of wildlife habitat that comes with industrial development, after years of enjoying watching the wild donkeys on that property. Deaver worries about the safety of horses and animals that constitute some of her neighbors’ livelihoods. Some people in the area ride horses competitively and train on their property, she said. Those jobs depend on having proper conditions for horses, she said. Increased trucking, railroad noise and nighttime lighting could disturb their living conditions. The Winters and Deaver joined about 60 other Wittmann residents who voiced their frustrations to BNSF officials on Wednesday night, when the company hosted a community meeting in the gymnasium of the local elementary school. There, BNSF displayed renderings and maps of its plans, while project engineers fielded a barrage of questions from the displeased, and, at times, emotional residents. The meeting was an early step in a series of public hearings for the project. It was expected to go before the Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission in November and before the county’s Board of Supervisors in December, BNSF representatives said. If granted approval from the county, construction would begin in 2025, and the facility would open in 2028. What is BNSF planning in Wittmann? BNSF, which runs one of the largest freight railroad networks in the country, has owned property in Wittmann, generally located near U.S. 60 and 219th Avenue, since 2004. In 2022, it purchased additional property from the Arizona State Land Department for $49 million through an auction. Its plans include the intermodal facility on 1,770 acres, a 1,400-acre logistics park and a 1,100-acre logistics center. The development cost of the project would be about $3.2 billion in total, Juan Acosta, BNSF assistant vice president of public affairs, said. The development would give BNSF’s customers an opportunity to lease land from the railroad giant to get rail-served sites along the route in the fast-growing area, Acosta said. Acosta said it would be unique to have all three components included in one facility and would provide greater access for the market, which is “an underserved market on the rail side.” “This is an issue focused on two things: growth in the metro, balanced against capacity to handle growth,” he said, adding that BNSF already has an intermodal facility in Glendale. “There are limits to handling the volume, and at some point, they’ll max out.” Rail service provides a competitive advantage for customers and a more efficient way of moving cargo than large amounts of trucks moving the same volume, Acosta said. “There’s less wear and tear on the roads and less greenhouse gases,” he said. “And there is the safety factor as well of having fewer trucks on the roads.” Cargo that comes through the facility would still be loaded onto trucks for transport to other destinations, but Acosta said the truck trips would be shorter and fewer than if the cargo were trucked the entire way. “Rather than have freight brought by truck, it’s economical for the customers but also a smart way for the region to grow,” he said. BNSF commissioned an economic impact study done by Tempe-based Rounds Consulting Group, which showed the facility would generate $7 billion worth of economic activity annually, Acosta said. Why is it stirring controversy? While BNSF has touted the creation of jobs and economic development in the region, residents foresee increased noise, traffic and air and light pollution — concerns BNSF has heard for more than a year. Acosta acknowledged on Wednesday night that the very growth that the Wittmann residents wanted to escape in the Valley is now following them. “I understand that completely, and that’s why we’re having a neighborhood meeting is to hear their specific concerns and be better able to respond to them as we progress through the permitting process,” he said. Exactly how BNSF would respond in the coming weeks was unclear, he said, noting that Maricopa County officials have received the same questions and concerns that they expect the company to answer. One aspect of the project that’s garnered significant consternation among the community is the project’s layout, which wraps around a neighborhood of homes off 211th Avenue and Galvin Street. That includes the Winters’ home, which would be surrounded by BNSF property on three sides. “Everybody out here is impacted, but literally, this is going to wrap around our entire little end of our roads,” Carrie Winter said, pointing to her street on the project map. Asked why the plans surround the neighborhood and whether there’s an alternate configuration, Acosta said, it’s “still a design.” He noted buffer zones would separate the boundary line of the property and facilities that would be built there. To Acosta, the issue will be finding ways to mitigate the concerns for lighting, noise and traffic. He also noted that the project still was in the “iterative process,” as it went through the county’s review. “There will be features that we might have to add or subtract, or changes that we might have to make, and what we contemplate building as we move through the process,” Acosta said. Who’s overseeing the project? Wednesday night’s meeting comes months after BNSF abandoned a long-standing effort to have Surprise annex the land. Surprise leaders laid the tracks for the project to be incorporated into the neighboring northwest Valley city in March 2023 by approving a general plan amendment, designating the land as employment instead of residential. Annexing the property, city officials have said, would have given Surprise oversight of the project and maintained a level of control and input. BNSF has since abandoned that effort and is now working with the county to greenlight the project’s construction. Acosta said the departure from the original plan to develop in Surprise was related to water supply for the site. BNSF purchased Type 2 water rights for the site, he said. According to the Arizona Department of Water Resources, Type 2 rights are the most flexible groundwater rights, because they can be sold separately from the land or the well. Each right gives the owner access to a limited amount of groundwater per year, according to the state agency. After receiving inconclusive opinions from the city about whether BNSF would be able to use the rights it had purchased if it were to be annexed into Surprise, the company opted to pivot and move forward with the plan in Maricopa County, Acosta said. Surprise Water Resource Management Director Michael Boule explained that the city and BNSF discussed water solutions that would fulfill the company’s needs, including the use of its Type 2 water rights. However, he added, there wasn’t enough information and research from regulatory agencies to proceed with that option.The decision to work with the county instead of Surprise was made earlier this year, catching some city leaders off guard, like Vice Mayor Nick Haney. “I wasn’t necessarily anticipating this,” Haney said in June. He added, “We all understand the importance of economic development and growth, but the community’s interests aren’t diminished in doing so.” Change of plans:BNSF will work with county instead of Surprise to zone 3.5K acres for intermodal complexReach the reporter at cvanek@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X @CorinaVanek.Shawn Raymundo covers the West Valley cities of Glendale, Peoria and Surprise. Reach him at sraymundo@gannett.com or follow him on X @ShawnzyTsunami.
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