top of page

Environmental Facts

Environmental Review

​

  • A full Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was prepared for the project pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).  This is the highest level of environmental review under CEQA.

  • The thresholds of significance and standards used in EIR are established under California law.

  • The EIR was reviewed by other public agencies, including the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD).

  • The project, including the Storage Basin Improvements, is subject to approval by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and associated environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

​​

Public Notice

​

  • Public notice is provided by the City pursuant to state and local law and not by the property owner. 

  • The City exceeded legally required notice by providing notice to property owners beyond a 300-foot radius from the project site. (See City Municipal Code Section 17.03.130.)  The nearest residence is over 500 feet from the project site.

  • The following is a chronology of public meetings and hearings, for which public notice (agenda notice and where applicable, mailed notice) was provided:

    • March 28, 2023: Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for project approved by City Council

    • July 22, 2024:  EIR Scoping Meeting (initial public meeting to receive feedback from community on the scope of the EIR

    • August 28, 2025:  Public notice of availability of Draft EIR

    • August 28, 2025 to October 13, 2025: Draft EIR available for public review and comment for 45 days

    • February 24, 2026:  Planning Commission hearing for project (recommended certification of the EIR and approval of the project by the City Council)

    • April 28, 2026:  Planning Commission Hearing on the Development Agreement (recommended approval by the City Council)

    • May 5, 2026:  City Council hearing

​​

CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) Quick Facts

​

Concerns have been raised by members of the public regarding the project’s potential air quality, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and traffic impacts.  Those topic areas are addressed below.

Air Quality Impact

  • The project would result in a less-than-significant impact based on established CEQA significance criteria.

  • No evidence, let alone substantial evidence (as required under CEQA), has been provided to the contrary.

Traffic Impact

  • The project would result in a less-than-significant impact based on established CEQA significance criteria.

  • No evidence, let alone substantial evidence (as required under CEQA), has been provided to the contrary.

 

GHG Emissions Impact

 

  • The GHG emissions impact analysis pertains to a potential global impact.

  • A project-level analysis of GHG emissions (i.e., construction and operational emissions) informs whether a project could have a cumulatively considerable impact on global climate change.

  • The project would result in a less-than-significant impact based on the higher SCAQMD threshold for industrial projects, specifically including warehouse projects.

  • The City could have reasonably concluded that the higher threshold should apply for CEQA purposes.

  • However, that threshold technically applies where the SCAQMD is the lead agency.  Therefore, the EIR conservatively assumed that the lower threshold should apply since the City is the lead agency for the project not the SCAQMD. 

  • The lower threshold has been recommended by the SCAQMD for residential and commercial projects, not industrial projects (including warehouse projects). Even so, the lower threshold was conservatively assumed in the EIR, meaning that project impacts are overstated.

  • As explained in the EIR, the lower threshold has a 90% capture rate of a large sampling of facilities, meaning that most large projects will exceed the lower threshold.

  • To illustrate, as explained in the Alternatives section of the EIR, a commercial project on the property (i.e., retail shopping center), which is permitted under current zoning, would also exceed the lower threshold and would likely result in greater GHG emissions impacts due to a net increase in vehicle traffic as compared to the project.

  • Various requirements and mitigation measures will be imposed on the project to reduce GHG emissions impacts.  For example, tenants of the warehouse will be required to comply with the SCAQMD Warehouse Indirect Source Rule (Rule 2305), which is expected to reduce GHG emissions during operations.

bottom of page