Equestrian arenas are visible in almost every yard. A few horses graze while two baby donkeys run to watch a truck drive past.A hawk sits, unbothered, on a fencepost, accustomed to residents of the sparsely populated community stopping to watch it.The bucolic scene in Wittmann, an unincorporated community in Maricopa County, sits about an hour away northwest of downtown Phoenix, and right outside the city limits from Surprise.The view is in stark contrast to what’s planned, a $3.2 billion industrial development by railroad giant Burlington Northern Santa Fe, or BNSF, which is planned to surround the community on three sides.The community grew with a culture that heavily revolves around horses, which can be for both recreation and lucrative business.The area’s equestrian culture is apparent to anyone visiting Robyn and Jerry Jones’ house. Horse-themed artwork and statues decorate the home, and photos of Jerry, now 79, competing in rodeo events in his youth are displayed in the living room.The Joneses and their neighbors, however, fear their lifestyle could change dramatically very soon.BNSF owns more than 4,000 acres of land surrounding the neighborhood and is moving forward with plans to develop it into a massive project that will include rail, an intermodal facility, a logistics park and other industrial uses.Public hearings begin on BNSF massive projectThe project will go before the Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission for its first hearing on Nov. 7. That case will address BNSF’s request to change the zoning on 839 acres from single-family rural to mixed-use employment.The case is part of a larger zoning case that encompasses the 4,321 acres. That will be heard separately at an undetermined date, according to Maricopa County documents.Representatives from BNSF told community members at a meeting in September that construction could begin on the site in 2025, and the facility would open in 2028.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 ahead of the neighborhood meeting in September.The development would give BNSF’s customers an opportunity to lease land from the railroad company to get rail-served sites along the route in the fast-growing area, Acosta said. Acosta said a multimodal facility would also mean fewer trucks on the road because large amounts of freight would be transported by rail.Acosta said it would be unique to have all three components included in one facility and provide greater access for the market, which is “an underserved market on the rail side.”The community, composed of single-family homes on large lots, each with 2 to 10 acres of land, is off 211th Avenue and Galvin Street, west of 211th Avenue from the former Chrysler proving grounds, which is in Surprise.Wittmann neighbors concerned about traffic, noiseResidents have vehemently opposed the project, which would add heavy industrial uses next to rural residential homes. Residents have cited truck traffic, safety, noise, water drainage, crime and a threat to their way of life as some of their major concerns about the plan.211th Avenue already gets a lot of truck traffic, Robyn Jones said. Kilauea Crushers, a gravel and aggregate company, has a rock quarry nearby on State Route 74, and trucks hauling gravel often head south on 211th Avenue, she said. The road is only two lanes with a speed limit of 55 miles per hour, which can be unsafe for people leaving the neighborhood in cars or those who go horseback riding.Jones said BNSF has claimed the project will reduce trucking, but said even if it does nationally and regionally, it will still increase truck traffic in their immediate neighborhood.Like many of the properties in the neighborhood, a major wash cuts through Jones’ backyard. The washes also run through BNSF’s property, and residents worry about flooding and runoff that could happen if the washes and water patterns are altered. Already, Jones said, the streets can become impassable if there is heavy enough rain.Gary Walker, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years, said he is worried about the environmental effects of the train and industrial hub.Terrye Kemp said the local equestrian business could also be in jeopardy. She’s heard fears that the vibrations and noise from the railroad could affect the breeding cycles of horses and stress out the animals.Residents seek noise, traffic abatementRobyn and Jerry Jones moved to the area in 2018 and immediately loved how friendly and helpful the neighbors were and sought the rural way of life.Jerry Jones said there could be changes made to BNSF’s plan that would better appease the neighbors, but he hasn’t seen a willingness to have a conversation.“They want to put the highest industrial zoning next to the lowest rural zoning,” he said. “We’d just like to have some input.”Lyle Delp, a real estate agent and homebuilder, said he and his wife moved to the area in 2001, after feeling like his old community of Desert Hills was getting “too crowded.” Delp has represented many of the homeowners in the area, who are also his neighbors, in buying, selling and building their houses. “My best-case scenario, I don’t believe we can stop it,” Delp said of the proposed development. “But I think we can make it so we don’t see any of it, we don’t hear any of it. Is that the best? Probably not, but it’s the best we can do.”Delp said he is doubtful that the community can successfully lobby against a major corporation like BNSF, but said there are changes they want BNSF to make.Delp said if BNSF were willing to give some concessions, like landscaping berms, sound barriers and buffer zones that would prevent homeowners from seeing the large development from their houses, and prevent noise from trucks and trains, the neighbors might find the project more acceptable.But so far, Delp said, there has been little response from BNSF regarding making any concessions.“We’re going to have a neighbor that doesn’t care about the community,” he said.Some neighbors have chosen to put their houses on the market, rather than stay and see what will happen, Delp said. He hasn’t seen a lot of interest from buyers in the area recently and has been disclosing to buyers he works with that BNSF has major plans in the area.Chantz Prewitt, who has owned his house for about 10 years, said he thought about calling Delp to list his home for sale.“My first thought was to call Lyle,” he said. “But this is where all our friends are at.”County staff has issued a recommendation for approval for the zoning change that will be heard Thursday, according to county documents, saying that the site will function as a core regional employment center in conformance with the policies and goals of the comprehensive plan.”Site operations would potentially provide hundreds of jobs across the skill spectrum and promote further economic growth,” county staff wrote in the report.Thursday’s recommendation will only apply to the 839 acres; action on the full 4,321 acres will come later.The Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission will meet at 9:30 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors’ Auditorium, at 205 W. Jefferson St., Phoenix. The meeting will also be livestreamed through the county’s website.Changes planned:They left Phoenix for a quiet life. But a rail project could bring noise, traffic to their rural areaCorina Vanek covers development for The Arizona Republic. Reach her 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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