No more warehouses can be built — at least for now — on Riverside’s Northside, an area residents say is already overburdened with bad air and traffic from giant distribution centers.
The Riverside City Council approved a 45-day moratorium Tuesday, March 10, and council members said they intend to extend the pause on warehouse approvals until city officials complete a plan for development in the Northside, which is expected near the end of 2020.
Residents taking part in meetings about that plan have said they don’t want more warehouses, especially near parks and historic structures such as the Trujillo Adobe.
Instead, they want a grocery store, housing and other construction that directly benefits residents, said City Councilwoman Erin Edwards, who represents the area and proposed the moratorium.
“The challenge is that even while we sprint toward the finish line on this plan, more warehouses are being proposed for this neighborhood,” Edwards said. “These warehouses are allowed under the current plan but may not be if the language changes under the Northside Specific Plan, as it likely will.”
Northside residents asked for the plan in 2003. The city began creating it in January 2017 and so far have spent $1.5 million on it, Edwards said.
Supporters of the moratorium who spoke at the meeting included representatives of neighborhood groups throughout the city, labor unions and environmental groups.
“It’s important that moving forward the city leadership consider the kinds of development that come in, development that prioritizes not only the well being of the economy but safe and sustainable places for people to live,” said Anthony Victoria, a Riverside resident and spokesman for the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice.
Developers in the Inland Empire have built more than 150 million square feet of warehouses — the most of any metropolitan area in the country, by far — according to the real estate firm CBRE.
Those warehouses are served by thousands of diesel trucks that contribute to some of the worst smog pollution in the nation, warehouse opponents said, pointing to data from the American Lung Association. The association gives both counties a grade of F for both ozone and particle pollution. Riverside County recorded 219 days with unhealthy levels of ozone for sensitive populations, 102 days with unhealthy levels for everyone and 9 days with very unhealthy levels.
Residents also said they were concerned about traffic, including damage to roads from heavy trucks.
The Northside Neighborhood is bounded by the 215 Freeway to the east, the 60 Freeway to the south, the Santa Ana River to the west and the border with Colton to the north. It includes homes in a semi-rural setting, traditional suburban subdivisions, industrial, commercial and office development, as well as the Ab Brown Sports Complex and former Riverside Golf Course.
Former City Councilman Mike Gardner, who represented the area until Edwards defeated him in the November election, told council members he had tried to get a similar moratorium passed six years ago and supported it now.
The moratorium, which required at least six votes to pass, was approved 6-1.
Councilman Chuck Conder did not say why he opposed the move.
Projects that have already been approved are not affected by the vote. Two projects that have been proposed but not yet approved will be put on hold.
