Clean & Green Pomona proposes a one-year moratorium on warehouses in the City of Pomona to provide time:
Warehouse Moratorium
To write proper regulations for warehouses to protect the health and quality of life of Pomona residents, students and workers or
To ban new warehouses in the City of Pomona
1. 2.
7 Reasons for a Pomona Warehouse Moratorium
Warehouses are a growing sector
Pomona has no standard regulations in place for warehouses Warehouses increase pollution, damaging people’s health The pollution caused by warehouses is an environmental justice issue Warehouses affect the quality of life for neighborhoods near their operations by increasing traffic, noise, accidents, and shaking in homes
Warehouses are associated with increased human trafficking Warehouses take away land which could be used for other important purposes
1. Warehouses are a growing sector
“…the proliferation of e-commerce and rising consumer expectations of rapid shipping have contributed to a boom in warehouse development…A warehouse is defined as a facility consisting of one or more buildings which stores cargo, goods, or products on a short or long-term basis for later distribution to businesses and/or retail customers.” (Industrial Warehousing in the SCAG Region, Task 2. Inventory of Warehousing Facilities (April 2018), http//www.scag.ca.gov/Documents/Task 2_FacilityInventory.pdf at 1-1, 2-11). (Warehouse Projects: Best Practices and Mitigation Measures to Comply with the California Environmental Quality Act, California Attorney General’s Bureau of Environmental Justice, https://oag.ca.gov/environment/justice).
“California with its ports, population centers, and transportation network, has found itself at the center of that trend. For example, in 2014, 40 percent of national container cargo flowed through Southern California, which was home to nearly 1.2 billion square feet of warehouse facilities.” (Los Angeles Times, Southern California Warehouse Boom a Huge Source of Pollution. Regulators are Fighting Back, May 5, 2021).
“The Inland Empire alone is adding 10 to 25 million square feet of new industrial space each year, according to research by the real estate services firm CBRE Group Inc.” 1Warehouse Moratorium
Pomona has approved a significant number of warehouse projects in the past five years.
A very large 266,348 square foot warehouse project, called Chino Commerce Park, was approved by the City of Chino on the Pomona border, at the corner of East End Avenue and County Road.
This project, which is under construction, will impact traffic on Reservoir and pollution in Pomona.
Attachment No. 1
2. Pomona has no standard regulations in place for
warehouses
When there are multiple businesses from a particular sector, it is a best practice to have standard regulations in place, rather than setting various standards for each individual project. (Warehouse Projects: Best Practices and Mitigation Measures to Comply with the California Environmental Quality Act, California Attorney General’s Bureau of Environmental Justice, https://oag.ca.gov/environment/justice).
“Proactive planning allows jurisdictions to prevent land use conflicts before they materialize and guide sustainable development. Benefits include providing a predictable business environment, protecting residents from environmental harm, and setting consistent expectations jurisdiction- wide.”
Warehouses impact community health and safety, as well as other businesses, so adequate regulations are essential.
Our city has historically been behind in updating crucial regulations and policies. For example, we are updating our zoning code this year—it was last updated in 1949. We updated our fees charged to developers in 2022—they were last updated in 1989. We updated our truck routes in 2019— they were last updated in 1959. Given the backlog of work from past generations which the current city staff faces, moratorium time is needed to update these important regulations now.
Many cities around us have enacted moratoriums on new warehouses, so that they can create adequate regulations. Cities like Chino, Colton, Jurupa Valley, Perris, Riverside and San Bernardino have had moratoriums introduced. Recently the City of Redlands unanimously recommended the city place a moratorium on new warehouse applications.
(KCET, Can Banning New Warehouses Improve Air Quality in the Inland Empire? March 10, 2022).
3. Warehouses increase pollution, damaging people’s health “The trucks, cars and cargo-handling equipment associated with warehouses release more smog- forming pollution than any other sector, accounting for more than 12% of nitrogen oxides emitted in the South Coast basin, which spans Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, according to the air district."
(Los Angeles Times, Southern California Warehouse Boom a Huge Source of Pollution. Regulators are Fighting Back, May 5, 2021.)
2Warehouse Moratorium
Warehouses bring severe truck pollution to neighborhoods. “Diesel trucks visiting warehouses emit nitrogen oxide (NOx)—a primary precursor to smog formation and a significant factor in the development of respiratory problems like asthma…diesel particulate matter…is a contributor to cancer, heart disease, respiratory illnesses and premature death.” (California air Resources Board, Nitrogen Dioxide & Health, http://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/nitrogen- dioxide-and-health (NOx); California Air Resources Board, Summary: Diesel Particulate Matter Health Impacts, https://ww2arb.ca.gov/resources/summary-diesel-particulate-matter-health-impacts; Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and American Lung Association of California, Health Effects of Diesel Exhaust, https//oehha.ca.gov/media/downloads/calenvironscreen/indicators/diesel14-02.pdf (DPM). 3Warehouse Moratorium
Pomona already has hazardous air quality problems. All the zip codes in Pomona have more pollution than 95% of zip codes in California. California has the worst air quality in the nation.
Diesel particulate from truck exhaust can travel deep inside a person’s lungs. Children, the elderly and those with health problems are most at risk for health impacts from NOx and diesel particulate emissions.
4. The pollution caused by warehouses is an environmental justice issue
(Los Angeles Times, Southern California Warehouse Boom a Huge Source of Pollution. Regulators are Fighting Back, May 5, 2021).
The South Coast Air Quality Management District “found that more than 2.4 million people live within half a mile of at least one large warehouse, that those areas have higher rates of asthma, heart attacks and poverty and are disproportionately Black and Latino.” The fact that warehouse pollution disproportionately affects low-income communities of color is environmental injustice and environmental racism.
Pomona already suffers from the impact of environmental injustice, where pollution burdens are unjustly concentrated in the low-income parts of the city.
Recently the City of Fontana was sued by the State of California for flouting a state mandated environmental review process when it approved the construction of a trucking warehouse near a school.
(Los Angeles Times, State Settles Environmental Case with Fontana, April 19, 2022,).
Warehouse truck traffic, idling trucks, and warehouse equipment (like fork lifts) produce toxic emissions.
Warehouses contribute to global warming. Operations cause a significant amount of energy consumption due to lighting, heating, cooling and air condition as well as fixed and mobile material handling equipment which induces considerable carbon dioxide emissions. “Emissions of air pollution and greenhouse gases are often among the most substantial environmental impacts from new warehouse facilities.”
(Warehouse Projects: Best Practices and Mitigation Measures to Comply with the California Environmental Quality Act, California Attorney General’s Bureau of Environmental Justice, https://oag.ca.gov/environment/justice).
5. Warehouses affect the quality of life for neighborhoods near their operations by increasing traffic, noise,
accidents, and shaking in homes
Traffic from warehouses is significant—causing traffic jams, traffic accidents, and noise pollution. 4Warehouse Moratorium
Road damage from warehouse trucks is paid for by cities.
People experience shaking in their homes as large trucks come close to homes.
Many warehouses use loud speakers in their operations, adding to noise pollution. (Warehouse Projects: Best Practices and Mitigation Measures to Comply with the California Environmental Quality Act, California Attorney General’s Bureau of Environmental Justice, https://oag.ca.gov/environment/justice).
“Trucks and on-site loading activities can also be loud, bringing disruptive noise levels during 24/7 operation that can cause hearing damage after prolonged exposure.” (Noise Sources and Their Effects, https://www.chem.purdue.edu/chemsafety/Training/PPETrain/dblevels.htm (a diesel truck moving 40 miles per hour, 50 feet away, produces 84 decibels of sound).
6. Warehouses are associated with increased human
trafficking
Human Rights First reports that nearly 70 percent of trafficking victims are exploited in the private economy. Warehousing is listed by HRF among the industries that are at the highest risk for human trafficking globally.
The Pomona City Council has recently taken policy action towards stopping human trafficking in Pomona. The warehouse industry increases our risk of human trafficking as a city. “…San Bernardino County Human Trafficking Task Force members surveyed a medical warehouse…right across the street from the Chino Valley Medical Center and around the corner from the police department…A suspected ringleader was arrested in what authorities say was a sex trafficking operation run out of a medical warehouse.” (abc7, Suspected sex trafficking operation run out of medical warehouse busted in Chino, August 19, 2017).
7. Warehouses take away land which could be used for other important purposes
Parks and green space
Developing higher paying jobs in the manufacturing and light industrial sectors “Warehouse facilities inevitably bring truck and passenger car traffic. Truck traffic can present substantial safety issues. Collisions with heavy-duty trucks are especially dangerous for passenger cars, bicycles and pedestrians. These concerns can be even greater if truck traffic passes through residential areas, and school zones.”