BNSF Railway’s Planned $3 Billion Arizona Hub Hits Opposition

BNSF Railway Company’s proposed $3.2-billion dollar logistics hub in the fast-growing Phoenix area is facing more pushback, this time from a neighboring local government.

Surprise City Council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution this week opposing the project, known as Logistics Park Phoenix, the Phoenix Business Journal reported.

Officials are uneasy with the “substantial unmitigated risk” of the rail hub and logistics park in its current form and take issue with the development likely burdening Surprise’s infrastructure and public safety services.

“As far as I can tell, their plan is to ram this thing in and let the residents and the taxpayers pay for the repercussions,” Councilmember Chris Judd said of the plan.

The 4,300-acre development site is in unincorporated Wittmann. Most of the opposition to the project so far has been from Wittman residents who live near the site.

In order to make the project happen, BNSF needs to secure the rezoning of the site through the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

BNSF has petitioned the body to vote on the project several times over the past year and subsequently asked for a delay each time as it tweaked its plans.

Once complete, the complex would be an intermodal and logistics hub for warehousing and manufacturing users allowing for goods to be transferred between train and truck. The BNSF site is directly adjacent to the northwest boundary of Surprise.

At first, BNSF planned to work through the city to get the site zoned and annexed into the City of Surprise.

Instead, the rail company chose to work through Maricopa County due to potential time constraints in securing water resources and annexing the property.

If the development is approved and built on county land, Maricopa County officials would still prefer that the BNSF property “ultimately annex into Surprise upon site buildout to obtain access to municipal services.”

BNSF said it was disappointed that Surprise decided to oppose the project that’s meant “to add critical rail capacity, supporting Arizona’s growth and prosperity by efficiently processing and delivering goods that families and businesses rely on every day,” a spokesperson told the outlet.

“We have been actively engaging with the city and other stakeholders for over a year, including frequent communication with city staff and recent in-person meetings focused on water, wastewater and transportation,” the spokesperson said.

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is set to vote on rezoning the site on Nov. 5.

— Chris Malone Méndez