06/12/2020
World Logistics Center hearing June 16 - Still Time to Comment
This is likely the last opportunity for the community to stand up and be heard with regard to the World Logistics Center (WLC). Whether you like it or dislike it there will be impacts on the community that should be addressed regardless. On June 16, 2020, the City Council will consider the appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval of the Final Revised Environmental Impact Report (EIR) which assessed the impacts to the community. Although the EIR provides mitigation measures to some impacts there still many remaining impacts officials (staff, commissioner, council members) believe are acceptable in light of the project benefits that will come to the city and its residents. Those are primarily money to the city and jobs for the residents. Money to the city will be property tax revenue that will be used up over time to provide protective services (police & fire) and maintenance (roads & landscaping) services to the new development. Jobs will be the same warehouse and construction jobs already available in and adjacent to the city limits which may have already been filled by all those qualified residents interested in that type of work.
Should the development of the WLC come to fruition then it will be the impactful on the heath of the residents and the finances to the city. We need to speak up and get many changes made to the EIR’s mitigation measures and the conditions of approval that can benefit the community. Many suggestions are provided below and it is highly recommended that your contact your council member, the mayor, all the other council members and staff with your concerns and suggestions to make things better. Please speak up and plan to attend the council meeting on June 16 via Zoom.
Mayor Dr. Yxstian Gutierrez [email protected]
District 1 Victoria Baca [email protected]
District 2 Carla Thorton [email protected]
District 3 David Marquez [email protected]
District 4 Ulises Cabrera [email protected]
Project Planner Claudia Descoteaux [email protected]
Planning Official Patty Nevins [email protected]
City Manager Mike Lee [email protected]
City Attorney Steve Quintanilla [email protected]
Major concerns of note for use as mitigation measures or conditions of approval:
1. Air quality and cancer risks due to the close proximity of numerous warehouses to existing residents.
• Locate all warehouses a greater setback distance from homes (500 – 1,000 feet).
• 100% of trucks accessing the WLC shall have zero emission technology.
• 100% of on-site vehicles (e.g. trucks, forklifts, yard trucks, etc.) shall have zero emission technology.
• Design layout of buildings that preclude warehouse loading docks on a side facing homes.
• If no greater setback distance then offer air filtration systems to all homes within 1,000 feet of a warehouse.
• No use of Greenhouse Gas Credits outside of the city and surrounding community.
• Install an air quality monitoring station for AQMD to begin tracking prior to any development in the project area.
• Install Electric Vehicle (EV) charging units in addition to the state required EV infrastructure.
• All development shall include installation of rooftop and/or parking lot solar to attain 100% energy self- sufficiency.
2. Noise impacts during construction and operation of warehouses.
• No outside construction between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. within 2,800 feet.
• Make mandatory the installation of sound barriers during construction.
• Design layout of buildings that precludes warehouse loading dock on a side facing homes.
• On-site installation of sound absorbing material to prevent sound bounce to homes.
• Prohibit outside installation of mechanical equipment on any side of a building facing towards homes or within 1,200 feet of homes.
3. Financial stability.
• Eliminate the exclusion for payment of Development Impact Fees for arterial streets, traffic signals, and interchange facilities to insure that all off-site impacts are financed and installed.
• Mandatory annexation into landscape and lighting district for cost coverage of those items.
• Installation of all missing multi-purpose trails at the developer’s expense not the city’s.
• The payment of TUMF shall not eliminate the need to install traffic mitigation at the time it is needed to effectively avoid traffic impacts.
• An alternative impact fee source shall be established and imposed on WLC development to generate the necessary revenue to cover the cost of installing the WLC Parkway interchange at SR-60.
• No City funds shall be directed toward project infrastructure through the use of bonds, commitment of Measure A funding or other financing methods.
• No financial commitments or requirements within the mitigation monitoring and reporting program, the conditions of approval, or the development agreement shall be waived or burdened upon the City. Developer will remain responsible for those costs.
4. Biological sensitivity impacts to San Jacinto Wildlife Area.
• Provide a 1,000-foot setback in Planning Areas 10 and 12, as measured from the southern property line. Within the 1,000-foot setback there can be no development; instead, this area should become a green space buffer between warehouse and other operations and the San Jacinto Wildlife Area
• No lighting shall be installed in the 1,000-foot transitional Open Space.
• All on-site lighting north of the 1,000 feet of the southern edge shall be designed in accordance with the Dark Skies requirement and all parking field lighting shall be reduced to half after 9 p.m.
• Concept for SJWA Edge Treatment area to be coordinated with biological resources settlement provisions for landscaping, drainage design, and other improvements.
• Establish deed restriction or similar protection and funding mechanism to ensure retention as landscaped open space and setback buffer to SJWA in perpetuity.
5. Project Development Alternatives.
• Development and construction phasing of warehouses must begin in the northeast corner of the WLC project area.
• Alternative “Business Park” uses should be encouraged for support business and job diversity.
• Establish transitional, small-scale, non-truck intensive business park uses in Planning Areas 3 and 4 pursuant to Land Use Initiative Section 12 along the western edge (approximately 1,000 feet) to afford alternative uses for a balanced community economically and for job diversity.
• Western edge treatment to provide full screening of project buildings. Provide a minimum 250 foot separation buffer (no-build zone), from the edge of right-of-way, for the sole intent of installing berms, walls, multi-purpose trails and landscaping to screen and separate the project from the residential neighborhoods and the roadway.
• Along all of the western edge:
o Establish a lower height limit of buildings not to exceed 30 feet.
o Only small-scale buildings not exceeding 50,000 square feet
o Clustered business park uses or office park campuses
• Davis Road at Theodore Street south of Alessandro Blvd has been vacated and shall never be established as a truck route anytime in the future.
• Extensive on-site parking shall be provided for long-term parking of tractor and trailers when not in service to limit on-street parking outside of the WLC boundaries.
• Preclude the Cactus Avenue extension into the WLC from being used as a truck route.
• The Redlands Avenue interchange shall be upgraded prior to commencement of any warehouse development.
• Traffic Impact milestones must be established that preclude continued development beyond critical traffic impact points until such time that the traffic impacts have actually been mitigated.
Link to the CC agenda and staff report.
