The Banning City Council decided this month to uphold the denial of the tentative parcel map and design review applications for the Banning Point Project.
The project, as initially proposed, included the construction of a 620,000-square-foot warehouse building that included 10,000 square feet of office space and a combined total of 34,000 square feet of retail and commercial space in the Sun Lakes Village North Specific Plan Area.
But the council’s 3-2 decision to stop the project from moving forward was appealed by the developer who, in a Sept. 25 letter, argued that the decision should be reconsidered due to what it considered bias shown by council members Sheri Flynn and David Happe against the developer and the project.
A lawyer for the developer said that the new information presented in letters submitted to the council on July 25 and Sept. 25, “speak for themselves,” and warranted a reconsideration of the council’s previous denial without the input of Flynn and Happe.
“While the request is somewhat unusual, it is a lawful request consistent with … the Banning Municipal Code,” the staff report said. “The request was also made timely by having been filed within 15 days of the City Council’s decision on the matter.”
However, in order for the council to reconsider the project and schedule it for a new public hearing, a motion would have to be made by one of the three council members who originally voted to deny the application — Flynn, Happe or Mayor Pro Tem Rick Minjares.
“That motion would need to be seconded by any member of the council and would need to pass by a majority vote,” David Newell, Community Development Director, said.
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Members of the community who spoke at the meeting implored the council not to reconsider its prior decision, including Randy Robbins, who has lived in Banning for more than six years.
“It is not, and never has been, the purpose of the Pass Action Group (PAG) to stymie growth in the city of Banning,” Robbins, who serves as president of the PAG, said. “We immediately recognize that this project does not meet the needs of the immediate or nearby communities.”
The group, which was formed in late 2022 to oppose this project, reiterated their concerns about the impact it would have on the surrounding community if allowed to move forward.
“The council majority made the right decision when it denied this fatally flawed project proposal,” Ron Roy, a Beaumont resident and PAG member, said. “They listened and they finally recognized the overwhelming opposition to the project by the thousands of nearby sensitive receptor residents who know this project has been bad all along.”
Ultimately, the council took no action on the matter, effectively denying the developer’s request for reconsideration.
“I don’t think there’s any basis for this at all,” Flynn said. “And I would like to conclude this and move forward and put this whole thing to rest.”
A full recording of the Oct. 8 meeting can be found here on the city’s website.
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