Bill looks for 1,000-foot buffer in between brand-new storage facilities, homes

As soon as again desires to get in between new large storage facilities and homes, an Inland legislator.

Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gómez Reyes, D-San Bernardino, plans to reintroduce a costs that would create a 1,000-foot buffer zone in between brand-new storage facilities of 100,000 square feet or more and homes, schools, day care centers and other so-called "sensitive usages."

Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gómez Reyes, D-San Bernardino, is reintroducing legislation to need a 1,000-foot buffer in between new large storage facilities and "delicate" uses such as schools, health centers and homes. (Courtesy of Eloise Gómez Reyes).
Similar legislation authored by Reyes fell short in the California legislature last year in the face of opposition from company groups. The requirement for buffer zones to safeguard homeowners hasn't waned, Reyes stated in a telephone interview Monday, March 13.

" It's clear that the expansion of warehouses in our community is causing harm to the community," stated Reyes, a 2024 Inland state Senate prospect.

" I think we constantly hope that the appropriate planning will be done so that our communities aren't affected ... that decisions will be made so that no storage facility is going to be sited beside a school or homes or that residential properties (aren't rezoned) just to permit a storage facility to be sited next to houses. That hasn't happened.".

Reyes stated she's met with chamber staff and other groups and organized tours of the Inland Empire "so that they might see we're not speaking about something that's anecdotal. It's really taking place.".

Denise Davis, a chamber spokesperson, said via e-mail: "Based on what we comprehend the costs will include from discussions with the author, (the new costs) will mainly be comparable to last year's (expense) and have the useful result of banning seriously needed warehouses throughout California.".

Davis added that the costs "would remove 10s of thousands of great jobs and intensify cost-of-living boosts for Californians.".

With storage facilities of 1 million square feet or more stretching to the horizon, the Inland Empire is a significant logistics hub. Proximity to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach; plenty of flat, uninhabited land; access to freeways and railway and a mainly blue-collar labor force sustained a logistics grow that went into overdrive as the coronavirus pandemic spurred an e-commerce rise.

Today, warehouses are a leading Inland company and the logistics sector is credited with speeding up the region's healing from the pandemic's financial downturn. However a seemingly endless convoy of warehouse-bound diesel trucks is blamed by ecological justice activists for the Inland Empire's reputation for hazardous air quality.

That air pollution, critics argue, results in higher rates of cancer, asthma and other conditions. Homeowners also complain about truck-clogged highways, noise and light contamination from round-the-clock warehouse activities and trapping logistics workers in a cycle of low salaries and extreme working conditions.

As demand for warehouse space surged, warehouses crept closer to homes and schools in areas people never thought logistics would go. It's not unusual to drive through Inland communities and see a sleek-walled warehouse looming over backyards or play areas.

The costs would use to healthcare facilities and holy places in addition to daycares, houses and schools. The buffer could diminish to 750 feet if warehouse designers satisfy specific standards, such as dedicating to using zero-emission cars and restricting the practice of trucks idling their engines.

The California Chamber of Commerce opposed in 2015's bill, arguing it would aggravate supply-chain problems while neglecting ecological and air-quality laws currently on the books.

The expense is the current example of the state being asked to restrict and control Inland storage facilities.

In January, more than 60 ecological justice and other groups signed a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom urging him to declare a public health emergency over warehouses and enforce a one- or two-year moratorium on new storage facilities.

Whether and how brand-new warehouses are approved is usually as much as city board and county boards of supervisors. Reyes defended her expense as a necessary and proper state intervention into local land-use control.

We are saying 'Here's the minimum we want,'" Reyes said. "Cities figure out the rest of it ... but the concern is too essential and we see the damage it's causing to the health of the neighborhood.

Reyes said she's "absolutely optimistic" her brand-new expense can end up being law.

" I've been investing a great deal of time with my coworkers. There is a video that was prepared that shows exactly what is taking place in the Inland Empire," she said, including that Fresno and Salinas "are experiencing the storage facilities also.".