The Riverside County Board of Supervisors last week laid the groundwork for a proposed megawarehouse project in the Mead Valley Area Plan by unanimously approving the initiation of a general plan amendment (GPA).
“The current foundation is primarily rural community for most of the site, with community development in the northeast portion of the site,” Russell Brady, a project planner with the county, said at the July 29 meeting. “The proposal on the northern portion of the site is to change the foundation to all community development with light industrial land use designation and, the southern portion, to change the foundation to open space with the land use designation of recreation.”
Brady said the change would allow the applicant to submit a proposal for approximately one million square feet of industrial warehouse space in the proposed light industrial area and a 15-acre community park in the proposed recreation area as part of the Cajalco Commerce Center project.
The project is being proposed by Hillwood, a real estate investment and development company founded by Ross Perot Jr. and based in Dallas. Perot is the son of the late businessman, politician and philanthropist Ross Perot.
Of the 25 people who spoke at the meeting, 17 spoke in support of the initiation of the GPA, including people from the community who supported the proposed project due to the park.
“I wholeheartedly support this project, not just the warehouse, but especially the park,” Yolonda Williams said, noting that Hillwood. “This is the only developer that has put forth effort for a park. We need, we want, and we realize we can have this park.”
Others who supported the project were union workers, who supported the jobs that construction of the warehouse project would bring to the community if the project moves forward.
Stay up to date with the latest from The Record. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter today!
“We have our apprentices that live here, our journeymen that live here and they’re going to work here,” Alfonso Sanchez, a member of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), said. “They’re going to get their pension, their insurance, all that good stuff, and, you know, the rest is good for everybody.”
Two people said they were generally supportive, but wanted more assurances from the developer that they would work to mitigate any negative impacts to the community. The remaining six spoke out against the GPA initiation, because it would allow for the development of a megawarehouse on land initially set aside for low density residential development and commercial retail in a community that already has a number of warehouse developments.
“At a time [when] we have a critical affordable housing shortage, you’re allowing developers to build warehouses that promise an economically empty future,” Greg Morris, who called into the meeting, said. “In addition, these distribution warehouses are not a source of sustainable and productive jobs beyond construction, which is a short-term work cycle and doesn’t guarantee work for residents of Riverside County.”
Mike McCarthy, vice chair of Riverside Neighbors Opposing Warehouses (R-NOW) also spoke out against the project, pointing out that the Mead Valley area has more warehouse area per capita than any other community in the Inland Empire.
“Within the 10-mile corridor of the 215, there’s over 365 existing warehouses, there’s over 125 million square feet, there’s another 44 approved, which is another 25 million square feet,” he said. “So the question is, how many warehouses do we need in this corridor?”
Supervisor Jose Medina, whose district includes the area, asked whether the applicant would continue to work with his office on the community benefit program for the proposed project if the GPA initiation was approved, to which the applicant said the company would.
While the board’s vote approved the GPA initiation, the proposed project itself will have to come back in front of the board after it’s submitted for approval. More information about the project can be found here on the Riverside County Planning Department website.
The Riverside Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet providing Riverside County with high-quality journalism free of charge. We’re able to do this because of the generous donations of supporters like you!