CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
December 4, 2023
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: James Makshanoff, City Manager
Submitted By: Anita D. Gutierrez, AICP, Assistant City Manager SUBJECT: CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF A MORATORIUM ON THE ESTABLISHMENT, EXPANSION, OR MODIFICATION OF CERTAIN LOGISTICS FACILITIES AND RELATED USES THAT ARE LOCATED WITHIN THE CITY OF POMONA RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council introduce, waive further reading and adopt the following urgency ordinance (Attachment No. 1):
URGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 4339 - AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF POMONA, CALIFORNIA, IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858, ESTABLISHING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON THE ESTABLISHMENT, EXPANSION, OR MODIFICATION OF CERTAIN LOGISTICS FACILITIES AND RELATED USES THAT ARE LOCATED WITHIN THE CITY OF POMONA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The purpose of this action is two-fold: first, to institute a targeted moratorium focused on restricting logistics facilities and related uses, and second, to extend the moratorium to coincide with the extended public input timelines associated with the comprehensive update of the Pomona Zoning Code. The final Zoning Code will include the formulation of definitive development standards and use regulations pertaining to logistics facilities and related activities. The proposed moratorium will be adopted as an urgency ordinance in accordance with Government Code Section 65858 and will expire on January 18, 2024. An affirmative vote of four-fifths (4/5) of the City Council is typically required for an urgency ordinance to be adopted, however, because the Pomona City Council is a seven-member body, an affirmative vote of six-sevenths (6/7) of the City Council is required for this ordinance to be adopted.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The adoption of the urgency ordinance will not result in any fiscal impact at this time.
PUBLIC NOTICING REQUIREMENTS:
A public hearing notice is not required for this action.
PREVIOUS RELATED ACTION:
On July 18, 2022, the City Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 4319, establishing a temporary forty-five (45) day moratorium on the establishment, expansion, or modification of warehouses, trucking facilities, and related uses city-wide (Attachment No. 2). This ordinance was scheduled to expire on September 1, 2022.
On August 1, 2022, prior to the adoption of the ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days moratorium extension, the City Council issued and filed the 10-day report describing the measures which the City has taken to address the conditions that led to the adoption of the Moratorium as required per Government Code 65858 (Attachment No. 3).
On August 15, 2022, Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 4321 establishing a ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days moratorium thereby extending the original forty-five (45) day moratorium on the establishment, expansion, or modification of Warehouses, Trucking Facilities, and related uses, city-wide, to protect public health, safety, and welfare (Attachment No. 4). This ordinance was scheduled to expire on July 16, 2023.
On May 15, 2023, prior to the moratorium extension being considered, the City Council issued and filed the 10-day report describing the measures that the City has taken to address the conditions that led to the adoption of the Moratorium as required per Government Code 65858 (Attachment No. 5).
On June 5, 2023, Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 4332 establishing a one-hundred and sixty-nine (169) day moratorium thereby extending the original forty-five (45) day moratorium and subsequent ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days moratorium on the establishment, expansion, or modification of Warehouses, Trucking Facilities, and related uses, city-wide, in order to protect public health, safety, and welfare (Attachment No. 6). This ordinance is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2023. Note that the City Council had the authority to extend the moratorium up to twelve (12) months, but opted to only extend the moratorium one-hundred and sixty-nine (169) days to align with the anticipated completion of the zoning code update. However, in order to allow for additional feedback from the public, the anticipated completion of the zoning code update has been extended to sometime in April of 2024 or thereabouts.
On November 6, 2023, Council considered the adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. 4339 that would establish a new moratorium on the establishment, expansion, or modification of warehouses, trucking facilities, and related uses city-wide. At this meeting, the Council asked staff to consider the preparation of a more targeted moratorium for the Council’s consideration as well as to report back on questions raised during the meeting related to the provisions utilized to adopt urgency ordinances.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
Pursuant to Section 15378(b)(5) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), this Ordinance is an organizational or administrative activity of the City that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment, and therefore not a project. Additionally, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), this Ordinance is exempt from CEQA review because there is no possibility that the Moratorium may have a significant effect on the environment, insofar as it prohibits the construction of or alterations to, Logistics Facilities and related uses within the City. Furthermore, even if the Ordinance is considered a project, the proposed moratorium is categorically exempt under CEQA Guidelines Section 15308, because it is clear that the Moratorium will not create an environmental impact and the action will assure the maintenance, enhancement, or protection of the environment through the eventual adoption of regulations and development standards on Logistics Facilities and related uses. Accordingly, no further environmental review is necessary. Furthermore, as the Ordinance is an administrative procedure related to uses, facilities, and regulations identified in the Pomona Zoning Ordinance and General Plan, and given that the proposed Ordinance is not related to a specific project, the Ordinance (i) by virtue of the location of affected improvements, will not impact a sensitive environmental resource of hazardous or critical concern; (ii) will not have a cumulative impact on the environment through successive projects of the same type, in the same place, over time; (iii) does not have any unusual circumstances that will have a significant effect on the environment; (iv) does not impact a scenic highway; (v) is not located on a hazardous waste site; and (vi) will not adversely impact a historical resource. Accordingly, none of the exceptions to categorical exemptions set forth in the CEQA Guidelines, Section 15300.2, apply to this Ordinance.
DISCUSSION:
At the June 6, 2022 City Council meeting, Staff discussed a potential moratorium and other strategies to address cumulative impacts from warehousing development in the City of Pomona (see Attachment No. 7 for the complete discussion). At that time, Staff reported that due to high market demand, the City of Pomona and the surrounding region are experiencing increased interest in developing and redeveloping industrially zoned land. The warehousing demand, if fulfilled in Pomona without additional regulation, Staff asserted, would likely increase impacts from truck traffic, poor warehouse design, and location to sensitive receptors. Staff identified four strategies for the Council’s consideration to address the cumulative impacts of unprecedented warehousing demand in the region— 1) adopt an immediate moratorium, 2) update the City’s zoning code, 3) create an Environmental Justice element in the General Plan, and 4) adopt a warehouse tax. The urgency ordinance, which was adopted on July 18, 2022, addresses the first solution, the establishment of a Moratorium.
The existing warehousing moratorium will expire on December 31, 2023. This date was originally recommended, to allow the Planning Division enough time to bring forward the adoption of the comprehensive update to the Pomona Zoning Ordinance, which would establish permanent warehousing standards previously anticipated to be adopted by the end of 2023. On July 26, 2023, the Planning Division released a Public Draft of the Pomona Zoning Ordinance update. Over the past three months, the Planning Division staff has fielded significant concerns over the proposed standards, especially concerning industrial uses. To that end, the Planning Division extended its time to work on a draft revision and now expects adoption in April 2024.
As this new date is beyond the original moratorium expiration of December 31, 2023, the City runs the risk of a several-month period in which warehousing concerns may revert back to the existing, inadequate zoning code, while waiting for permanent standards, despite continuing public health and safety concerns. However, since the start of the moratorium in 2022, the Planning Division has learned more about the nuances of regulating industrial development and is now proposing a tailored moratorium to address persistent issues related to logistics in Pomona directly. This includes:
Staff is recommending that the new moratorium be more targeted to focus only on Certain Logistics Facilities and related uses as these types of uses have the potential to have the most significant impacts to the community as they relate to health, noise, vibrations, public safety, and the integrity of public infrastructure.
Uses that fall within the umbrella term “Certain Logistics Facilities” includes the following:
Common carrier trucking companies.
Trucking facilities.
Trucking stations.
Product Distribution, Cold Storage.
Product Distribution, Large.
Product Fulfillment.
Product Transportation
Uses that do not fall within the umbrella term “Certain Logistics Facilities” include “Product Distribution, Small,” which is defined in the draft ordinance as:
“Product Distribution, Small” means a facility less than 20,000 square feet, including any property and/or structure, which includes any use for the conduct, business, or management of the following activities: distribution or redistribution of goods within the supply chain (typically in bulk quantity), receiving and processing, storing, as well as inventory management.
Staff conducted an analysis of all existing properties that are identified as “industrial” within Los Angeles County Assessor land use classifications. Approximately 76%, or roughly 3 out of every 4 industrial properties within the City of Pomona, are between 1,000 and 20,000 square feet in size. Therefore, the proposed narrowing moratorium would still enable 76% of industrial operators to continue operating or leasing for small product distribution.
COUNCIL PRIORITIES & GOALS:
This item supports the following 2021-2022 City Council priorities and goals:
Priority 2: Economic Development – Goal J: Encourage the development and maintenance of quality housing opportunities for all.
Priority 3: Safe and Clean Community – Goal M: Improve safety and cleanliness at parks and public spaces.
Priority 5: Infrastructure – Goal P: Improve the condition of streets, alleys, and associated sidewalks. Prepared by:
Vinny Tam, AICP
Senior Planner
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment No. 1 – Draft Urgency Ordinance No. 4339
Attachment No. 2 – Urgency Ordinance No. 4319
Attachment No. 3 – 10-Day Report dated August 1, 2022
Attachment No. 4 – Urgency Ordinance No. 4321
Attachment No. 5 – 10-Day Report dated May 15, 2023
Attachment No. 6 – Urgency Ordinance No. 4332
Attachment No. 7 – City Council Staff Report dated June 6, 2022 Urgency Ordinance No. 4339 for Code Amendment (CODE-022648-2023)