Maricopa County Supervisors Deny BNSF Land Use Designation Change

On Wednesday, the Maricopa county Board of supervisors denied a request from freight railroad operator BNSF that would allow new development on land near Wittmann.

The supervisors voted unanimously to deny the BNSF Intermodal Comprehensive Plan Amendment, which would have changed the designation of land north of U.S. 60 between 211^th Avenue and 235^th Avenue from Single Family Rural to Mixed Use Employment.

The supervisors’ vote does not spell the end of Burlington-Northern Santa Fe’s plans to build a state-of-the-art freight rail facility on about 4,000 acres in northwest Maricopa County.  However, it will require BNSF to do more work to align with the policies set forth in the County’s Comprehensive Plan for the area.

“I am grateful to the thousands of constituents who have engaged in this process.  Their input was vital to my decision,” said Supervisor Debbie Lesko, who represents the area in question in her role as District 4 supervisor.  “The fundamental reality is that the infrastructure and service framework necessary to support this level of development is not in place.”

The White Tank Grand Avenue Comprehensive Plan governs development and growth in the area and was adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 2023.  At the time, BNSF was in discussions with the City of Surprise to achieve annexation which would provide the services necessary to support a railway logistics hub for the transportation, storage, and distribution of goods throughout the Southwest.  However, annexation into the City of Surprise did not happen.  BNSF instead requested a Mixed Use Employment designation within unincorporated County, but without service agreements in place.

The Board of Supervisors continued the land use designation case several times to allow BNSF to coordinate and refine its plans.  During that time, the City of Surprise voted to oppose the BNSF project as it currently stands.

“Our County’s planning framework places a high priority on regional consistency and collaboration,” Supervisor Lesko said.  “Advancing a large-scale employment land use designation in unincorporated Maricopa County without City coordination or service agreements in place risks fragmented growth and duplicative service efforts.”