The county is moving forward with BNSF’s plans to build a $3.2 rail hub in Wittmann, Arizona.

The Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission has taken the first step to clear the way for BNSF Railway to rezone the authorize $3.2 billion construction near Wittman in the extreme northwest of the valley.

In a tense meeting Thursday, the commission voted to recommend that the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors approve a comprehensive plan amendment that county staff said corrects a mapping error that misclassified some of the land owned by BNSF. BNSF owns 4,321 acres near 211th Avenue and Dove Valley Road. Some of that land, about 800 acres, was misclassified during the county’s 2023 comprehensive plan update, county staff said.

Despite the fact that the land was classified as a rural residential zone, in the comprehensive plan it was allocated for industrial use. However, in 2023, the industrial designation was “inadvertently removed” from the map on 800 acres, according to a county report prepared by Joel Landis, a county planner.

The commission, which is an advisory body to the county Board of Supervisors, voted unanimously to approve the change.

While Thursday’s action was only about reclassifying the portion and correcting a “mapping error,” residents who strongly opposed the proposed BNSF project expressed disappointment in how the case was handled. Many said the process was confusing and did not give them the opportunity to voice concerns.

“It would be very obvious to anyone who lives here that this is not an appropriate use of this land,” said Josh Jones, one of the neighbors who spoke at the meeting.

However, at the hearing, Susan Demmitt, an attorney with Phoenix-based Gammage and Burnham, which is representing BNSF in the case, said the larger zoning case will likely be heard next spring. The zoning case seeks to change the zoning of the entire site, 4,321 acres, from rural residential to industrial.

BNSF proposes a 1,770-acre intermodal facility, a 1,400-acre logistics park and a 1,100-acre logistics center. The total development cost for the project will be about $3.2 billion, Juan Acosta, assistant vice president of public affairs for BNSF, said before a September neighborhood meeting.

Thursday’s action, however, does not address those plans.

Residents attending Thursday’s meeting expressed frustration with the process and were instead asked to comment on a later zoning case that would involve potential approval of the massive project.

Neighbors, including the neighborhood that will be surrounded by BNSF on three sides, have asked BNSF for some concessions, such as landscaping berms, sound barriers and buffer zones that will prevent homeowners from seeing the massive development from their homes and prevent truck noise. and trains.

However, they say they have not heard their concerns from BNSF.

“Are we going to be punished for being here first?” Elizabeth Oldham, a resident of nearby Circle City, said so.

The comprehensive plan amendment is scheduled to go before the board of supervisors in December, but the larger zoning case will likely go before the commission in early spring, Demmitt said at the meeting.

Contact the reporter at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @KorinaVanek.