Maricopa County board denies BNSF land-use change for proposed logistics park after hours of testimony

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 5 denied a major comprehensive plan amendment for 840 acres of BNSF-owned land near Grand Avenue and US 60, voting 5–0 to keep the property’s current single-family rural designation.

Tom Ellsworth, Maricopa County director of planning and development, told the board the application is “for a major comprehensive plan amendment on approximately 840 acres” to change the White Tanks–Grand Avenue area plan map from single-family rural to mixed use employment. He warned that the amendment “is more than that” and raised infrastructure, transportation, water and public safety questions that had been discussed in the 2023 area plan update under the assumption the property would be annexed into the city of Surprise.

BNSF’s attorney, Susan Demet of Gammage & Burnham, described the broader Logistics Park Phoenix project as a $3,200,000,000 private investment on 4,321 acres and asked the board for a continuance so the comprehensive-plan amendment could be considered alongside a rezoning and a multi-agency transportation proposal. Demet said the applicant is…