County Reaches Settlement with Developer of Massive 'World Logistics Center'

MORENO VALLEY, CA - Riverside County reached a settlement with Moreno Valley and the developer of a proposed mega warehouse in the city that triggered a lawsuit last year over concerns about significant traffic congestion and pollution, it was announced Friday.

The county's effort to stop the World Logistics Center was dropped after attorneys for the plaintiffs and defendants negotiated terms under which developer Highland Fairview agreed to pay up to $26 million toward regional transportation improvements, according to county officials.

"It is an opportunity to deal regionally with the effects of future distribution centers while contributing critically needed additional transportation funding to expand our road system," said Supervisor Marion Ashley, whose 5th District includes Moreno Valley.

The suit is only one of several filed last September to put the kibosh on the mammoth project. The other suits are still proceeding.

The logistics center is slated to occupy space east of Redlands Boulevard, west of Gilman Springs Road and south of the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway. Critics say it will flood the area with more truck traffic than current roads can manage, and saturate the community with higher concentrations of particulate matter.

The settlement calls for a new program to impose fees on distribution centers for the purpose of generating revenue for road improvements. Everything is contingent on whether a judge certifies the final environmental impact report on the 2,600-acre World Logistics Center, ensuring it is in full compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act, according to the county.

The Moreno Valley City Council already has given a green light to the project.

County officials said that if a regional warehouse fee is adopted, per the deal, Highland Fairview would be assessed 65 cents per square foot for each warehouse within the logistics center. If no fee is approved by the Riverside County Transportation Commission Board of Governors, Highland Fairview would still be obligated to pay 50 cents per square foot.

Funds collected would go toward widening and other improvements on the 60 freeway and Gilman Springs Road, officials said.

According to WLC opponents, nearly 69,000 vehicle trips per day -- including 14,000 trucks coming and going on a 24-hour basis -- risk significant travel delays on the 60 and Gilman Springs, along with a higher volume of pollutants in an area already suffering poor air quality.

The plaintiffs in the remaining suits argue that the city failed to establish mitigation measures to deal with impacts to air quality, traffic and wildlife habitat.

The Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice stated that the estimated 400,000 metric tons of emissions produced annually by trucks coming and going from the mega-warehouse and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will not only degrade breathable space for people, but also animals in the nearby San Jacinto Wildlife Area -- home to the California golden eagle, the burrowing owl, tricolored blackbird and the San Jacinto crownscale.

Supporters point to the job-creating prospects behind the 40.6-million- square-foot WLC. Last fall, the Moreno Valley Jobs Coalition submitted petitions containing more than 50,000 signatures urging city leaders to resolve the litigation to get the project moving, saying 13,000 construction jobs and 20,000 permanent jobs were at stake.

With the county and the RCTC out of the picture, other entities with lawsuits pending include the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, the Sierra Club, the San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society and the Coalition for Clean Air..

– By City News Service.