State Reaches Settlement with World Logistics Center's Developer

MORENO VALLEY, CA - The state's pollution watchdog has reached a settlement with Moreno Valley and the developer of a proposed mega distribution center that triggered multiple lawsuits over concerns about significant traffic congestion and pollution, it was announced Friday.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District'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 millions of dollars in mitigation fees to the pollution regulator.

"As a result of working with the SCAQMD ... the developers of the World Logistics Center have already pledged to implement several air quality mitigation measures," said Wayne Nastri, the agency's acting executive officer. "The additional mitigation afforded by this settlement will further protect the health of residents living along the heavily traveled 60 freeway corridor"

The settlement will end two lawsuits filed by the state in Riverside County Superior Court in September 2015. Separate suits authorized by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors and the Riverside County Transportation Commission were settled in July. However, other civil actions are still proceeding.

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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.

According to SCAQMD officials, the terms of the current settlement specify that Highland Fairview will pay an air quality improvement fee of 64 cents per square foot of developed space between start of construction and 2030. That could translate to $26 million in the agency's coffers, officials said.

"Although the mitigation funds paid to SCAQMD may be used for any purpose to improve air quality, officials plan to work with local residents and community groups to develop mitigation efforts focused on reducing emissions in the areas affected by the warehouse project," according to an agency statement.

The county's settlement seeks a new program to impose fees of 50 to 65 cents per square foot for each warehouse built within the 2,600-acre World Logistics Center, for the purpose of generating revenue for road improvements. Funds collected would go toward widening and other upgrades 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 complex 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.

Other entities with lawsuits pending include 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 / Images via City of Moreno Valley