New warehouses will not be allowed in Redlands, the City Council has decided.
The council unanimously approved a ban on new warehouse construction at its meeting Tuesday, Nov. 18, backing the recommendation of the city’s Planning Commission. Warehouses already approved by city leaders, such as the 357,610-square-foot logistics center at the former Splash Kingdom waterpark, are not impacted by the council’s decision.
The majority of public speakers at the meeting Tuesday said the supported the council’s action, some stressing their concerns about the air quality impacts of warehousing in the region.
Redlands resident Michael Paisner called the warehousing ban a “compromise” that serves both the community and developers.
Limiting the ban to future projects is a way of “respecting the rights of existing property owners while addressing the needs of residents that have to live with the impacts warehouses bring to our city,” Paisner said.
According to the city, prior to the council’s action, there were only three properties in Redlands zoned for warehouse development. Following the council’s vote, the city will amend the zoning on those sites to prevent warehouse construction there. The council will take up an ordinance reflecting those changes at a later date.
The council’s action Tuesday comes month after the Planning Commission backed changes to the city’s zoning ordinance. The commission recommended the ordinance be changed to do the following:
- Allow existing warehouses to remain and continue operations.
- Allow existing warehouses to be rebuilt if destroyed by fire or another natural disaster, provided they retain the same square footage and building height.
- Prohibit the construction of new warehouses citywide.
- Prohibit the combining of parcels that might contain existing industrial or warehouse buildings for the purpose of constructing new warehouses.
Debate over warehousing in Redlands has simmered in recent years, sometimes boiling over as residents decried developments such as those approved for the Splash Kingdom site and the shuttered La-Z-Boy plant. Meanwhile, as community backlash against warehousing has increased, the city has enacted moratoriums on logistic center developments to allow staff time to study impacts and rezone properties to prioritize housing development.
At the meeting Tuesday, some residents cited the city’s climate action plan, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as reason to support a ban on additional warehouses.
“I think it’s very important that all of us who care about the city, who care about the future, who care about our children, do everything we possibly can to get CO2 emissions under control, and this even though we’re not talking about huge warehouses,” said Linda Hamilton, executive director of Accelerate Neighborhood Climate Action Redlands, a climate advocacy organization.
Councilmember Denise Davis shared similar sentiments, noting her role as a city official and mother of a 2-year-old child. Davis expressed her concern about the effect of traffic emissions on children.
“I think about the air he’s breathing here every single day,” Davis said. “I check the air quality daily, and more than half the days are moderate to severely bad. It terrifies me to know that asthma and respiratory illness rates are amongst the worst in the nation for children here in the Inland Empire.”
A National Library of Medicine study published in September found that San Bernardino and Riverside counties rank among the top five most polluted cities in North America due to vehicle emissions and industrial waste.
The study concludes that “there continues to be a higher-than-average prevalence of pediatric asthma in the Inland Empire and San Bernardino.”
While the council cannot “undo” its earlier approvals for developments, Councilmember Marc Shaw said, if the city can prevent warehouses from being built on the last three zoned sites, “then I think we’re going in the right direction.”
Councilmember Paul Barich agreed, saying the city’s efforts should focus on affordable housing.
“We need something a little more constructive for our citizens, and not warehouses,” Barich said.
Addressing public comment on the former waterpark, now a warehouse, Barich and City Attorney Yvette Garcia clarified that public disapproval of a project does not allow the city to prevent.
If a project meets all the current city standards and ordinances, Garcia said, the council must approve it.
Councilmember Eddie Tejeda said he took issue with “the sentiment that the council isn’t listening to the community.” He said the council must adhere to the city staff’s recommendations, especially if a project meets development standards.
“Community input is important,” he said, “but that is not an allowable way to deny a project.”
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