Gunter officials say executed BNSF development agreement narrows industrial uses, adds buffers and pauses litigation

GUNTER, Texas — City officials said they have executed a development agreement with BNSF Railway that they negotiated to reduce heavy-industrial permissions near residences, add a large buffer and temporarily pause a lawsuit while remaining land-use steps — platting, zoning and voluntary annexation — move through city and county processes.

City Attorney Courtney told attendees the development agreement covers only the form and design of the project and does not change zoning or substitute for required plats. “The development agreement simply agrees on what the development is gonna look like. It doesn't change the zoning,” Courtney said, noting the legal filings remain in place while parties pause discovery under a Rule 11 filing.

The agreement follows an earlier, broader May 2023 pact that officials said allowed 950 acres of M‑2 (heavy industrial) uses with no protections; that document was passed unanimously 4–0 at the time, a council member said. Mayor (name not specified) and other elected officials described months of renewed negotiations after the city and BNSF returned to the table in late 2023 and into 2024, and said the city and the railroad made multiple concessions before executing the January 2025 agreement.

What the agreement changes

Officials described several concrete, negotiated changes that they said narrow operations closest to homes and add protections residents requested. Among the items officials cited: - A setback/buffer of about 820 feet between industrial areas and any home or residential parcel where the development touches city land; earlier proposals included much smaller buffers (for example, 5 feet in the May 2023 agreement). The mayor said the larger buffer was a major change residents welcome. - An 8‑foot masonry perimeter fence around portions of the site that city land will contain. - Height and lumen (light) restrictions on lighting and structures on city‑zoned portions. - Noise limits the city described as a 75‑decibel standard measured at the property line, allowed for short bursts (officials described it as “75 decibels permitted for a maximum of 15 minutes in any 1 hour from the property line”). - A narrower list of allowed uses in the city portion: officials said the executed exhibit limits the city portion to M‑1 plus a set of specific manufacturing and wholesale uses (asphalt/concrete contractor shop and storage, mill/grain/food products, petroleum products sales/wholesale, scrap metal sales/storage, cement/lime/gypsum/plaster, certain chemical and gas manufacturing, pipe and steel fabrication, plastics manufacturing excluding raw‑material processing, and wholesale/warehouse uses) rather than the full M‑2 heavy‑industrial slate included in the May 2023 agreement.

Officials said some heavier M‑2 uses may remain possible on adjoining county property (outside city limits) where the railroad controls land, but that the portion the city expects to rezone later will have more limits and transitions to lighter categories near homes.

Legal and procedural status

Court filings remain active, officials said. Courtney explained the parties filed a Rule 11 agreement in court to pause discovery while they finalize settlement terms; she said the city previously filed a plea to the jurisdiction that also limited discovery while the court considered whether it had jurisdiction. She said the city expects the lawsuit would be dismissed with prejudice once the remaining conditions in the agreement are met, meaning the same claim could not be refiled.

City staff reported BNSF notified the city by email in mid‑2023 that it had withdrawn earlier zoning and voluntary annexation filings and that the parties had not then agreed to a proposed first amendment; subsequent negotiations, according to officials, led to the executed agreement this January.

Next steps: plat, zoning, annexation and public review

City staff and council members said BNSF must still submit a plat and a rezoning application for the city portion; the city will review those materials, and any rezoning or plat approvals would require public notices and city council action. One staff member said engineers are working with BNSF on a plat and that the city hopes to be in a position to bring rezoning back for council consideration once the plat conforms to the agreement.

On annexation, officials said the agreement limits voluntary annexation to a five‑year window in the agreement (BNSF had sought 10 years), but that voluntary annexation would occur “upon zoning” of the city land. That conditional language means annexation could happen sooner if zoning is completed quickly, city staff cautioned.

Traffic, truck routes and TxDOT coordination

Council members summarized community concerns about truck traffic and local road capacity. Officials said the agreement includes a commitment from BNSF to work “in good faith” with the city’s engineers on traffic and access improvements; the city reported it is meeting regularly with TxDOT and that the city engineer will hold a monthly cadence with state and railroad engineers to move needed road work and turn‑lane improvements forward. Staff warned that TxDOT’s funding rollouts and schedules may delay major corrections by months or years.

Timeline and economic impacts

Officials said they do not yet know which companies will locate at the site and therefore cannot forecast job counts or tax receipts precisely. They said much of the early work will be site preparation — rebuilding track approaches and raising grades — and estimated it could be two to three years before significant operations begin and longer for any full build‑out. Property tax, not sales tax, is the principal immediate revenue source expected if industrial users build facilities on the city portion, council members said.

What residents asked and what officials emphasized

Residents at the meeting asked about noise, the frequency of train operations, and whether daily life would change for nearby households. Officials answered that the railroad’s yard operations (including building and breaking trains) would likely continue, but that the negotiated limits, buffers, and lighting restrictions should reduce impacts nearest homes. City staff also noted that some operational noise — for example, trains — will continue and that the permit and noise standards in the agreement will be enforceable against the developer and monitored by the city.

Courtney and the mayor both emphasized the legal limits on what city officials could discuss while litigation was active and why some documents were not released earlier. Courtney said the city could not publicly provide certain materials while litigation and discovery were active; once the parties complete the legal steps required by the Rule 11 and the court, staff said, additional materials will be released by public records request or via published exhibits.

Ending note

City officials said they will present the BNSF plat and any rezoning application when those materials are complete; council members repeated that any rezoning or plat action will be posted publicly and require council approval. “When they bring it to the table, that plan will have to be approved by the city council,” one staff member said. Until then, officials urged residents to monitor posted agendas, public notices and the city’s forthcoming news releases for updates.