ORDINANCE NO. ____
AN INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RIALTO, CALIFORNIA, EXTENDING THE PROVISIONS OF ORDINANCE NO.____ ESTABLISHING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON THE ESTABLISHMENT, EXPANSION OR INTENSIFICATION OF INDOOR STORAGE FACILITIES WITHIN THE JURISDICTIONAL BOUNDARIES OF THE CITY OF RIALTO.
WHEREAS, the City of Rialto, California ("City") is experiencing an increase in applications for the construction and operation of “indoor storage facilities” which includes largescale warehouses and distribution facilities within City limits; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that there has been an increase in development of indoor storage facilities which has been exacerbated by the rise of e-commerce since the COVID-19 pandemic, and has the potential to threaten the public health, safety and welfare; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the establishment, expansion or intensification of indoor storage facility uses in the City have the potential to cause impacts to the City’s land use patterns, environmental quality, overall quality of life, and imposes strains on the rights-of way (including congestion and loss of integrity), all of which can threaten the economic viability of the City; and WHEREAS, impacts related to indoor storage facilities include increased traffic with a high volume of truck traffic including heavy-duty trucks, which in turn contributes to noise pollution, storm water runoff, habitat disruption, and a continued reduction in air quality through increase in greenhouse gas emissions which have the potential to lead to increased rates of cardiac, respiratory, and reproductive health impacts, as well as cancers; and WHEREAS, the Planning Division, upon review of the existing indoor storage facility uses, potential future indoor storage facility uses and current zoning regulations, has determined that the City’s current zoning regulations do not adequately address the unique impacts of indoor storage facility uses; and WHEREAS, without adequate guidelines related to indoor storage facility uses, said uses have the potential to cause impacts inconsistent with the best economic interests of the community, and decreases the City's ability to regulate indoor storage facility in a manner to protect the general public, and may adversely impact the environment, all of which pose a current and immediate threat to public health, safety, and welfare; and WHEREAS, there is an urgent need for the City to review and revise its General Plan, zoning ordinances, and other applicable policies and regulations to ensure that indoor storage facility developments are appropriately sited, scaled, and operated in a manner that mitigates adverse impacts on the community, including environmental and traffic impacts and impacts to sensitive receptors; and WHEREAS, City staff, the City Planning Commission and the City Council, require a reasonable period of time to study the following, with respect to the establishment, expansion or intensification of indoor storage facilities in the City, in order to make recommendations on appropriate regulations to ensure development of indoor storage facilities aligns with the long-term goals of the City and for the protection of the public health, safety and welfare:
the potential adverse impacts on the environment, traffic, aesthetics, and visual quality of properties within the City; and land use and zoning designations due to encroachment of indoor storage facility projects in the proximity of residential uses and the impacts of residential uses on indoor storage facilities; and land use and zoning designations due to recent adoption of AB 98; and the increase of truck traffic on City streets that has not been fully mitigated by modification of truck routes; and potential impact on sensitive receptors and sensitive uses which shall include existing residential uses, churches, schools, parks, and natural open spaces that are in proximity to zones where potential new indoor storage facilities could be developed or existing indoor storage facilities that could be expanded or intensified; and efficacy of a one thousand (1000) foot radius buffer from sensitive uses including residential zones; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Government Code Section 65858, the City Council may adopt as an urgency measure an interim ordinance prohibiting any use that may be in conflict with a contemplated general plan, specific plan, or zoning proposal that the legislative body, planning commission or the planning department is considering or studying or intends to study within a reasonable time; and WHEREAS, Government Code Sections 36934 and 36937 expressly authorize the City Council to enact urgency ordinances, which take effect immediately upon introduction, for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, containing a declaration of the facts constituting the urgency, and which must be passed by a four-fifths vote of the City Council; and WHEREAS, on January 28, 2025, the City Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 1697, imposing a 45-day moratorium on the establishment, expansion, or modification of indoor storage facilities including warehouses, distribution centers, and related uses (the “Moratorium”); and WHEREAS, the Moratorium will expire on March 14, 2025, unless extended pursuant to Government Code Section 65858, which authorizes the City Council, after notice pursuant to Government Code Section 65090 and a public hearing, to adopt an ordinance extending the Moratorium for as long as 10 months and 15 days upon approval by a four-fifths vote, and upon making the same findings required for initial adoption of the Moratorium; and WHEREAS, Government Code Section 65858(d) requires the City Council, ten days prior to expiration of the Moratorium or any extension thereof, to issue a written report describing the measures taken to alleviate the condition which led to the adoption of the Moratorium; and WHEREAS, in accordance with Government Code Section 65858(d), the City Council hereby approves the ten-day report, attached hereto as Exhibit “A”, describing the measures being taken to alleviate the condition which led to the adoption of the Moratorium; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the development of new indoor storage facilities, or the expansion or intensification of existing indoor storage facilities, may have adverse impacts on the environment, traffic, aesthetics, and visual quality of surrounding properties and on the economic vitality within the City, and such impacts constitute and pose a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, or welfare; and WHEREAS, City staff begun researching the issues related to indoor storage facilities including warehouses, distribution centers, and related uses but require more time after March 14, 2025 to complete the research necessary to establish the regulations needed to alleviate the conditions which led to the adoption of the Moratorium; and WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to extend the Moratorium for a period of ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days, or until the City Council adopts an ordinance addressing the issues raised by warehouses, distribution centers, and related uses.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Rialto hereby ordains as follows:
SECTION 1. Recitals Incorporated and Declaration of Urgency. The City Council finds the recitals contained in this ordinance to be true and correct, relies upon them in passing this ordinance, and incorporates them herein as though set forth in full herein. The City further finds that there is a current and immediate threat to public health, safety, and welfare posed by the establishment, expansion or intensification of indoor storage facilities including warehouses, distribution centers, and related uses.
SECTION 2. Moratorium on the Establishment, Expansion or Intensification of Indoor Storage Facility Uses.
The Rialto City Council hereby extends the moratorium for ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days, or until the City Council adopts an ordinance addressing the impacts with respect to the establishment, expansion, intensification, development or construction of indoor storage facility uses within the City of Rialto.
This moratorium shall apply to the issuance of any permit or approval (including but not limited to grading, infrastructure, building, temporary certificate of occupancy, certificate of occupancy, conditional use permit, conditional development permit, variance, change to the zoning or General Plan designation) for a new, expanded or intensified indoor storage facility use or development.
For the purposes of this moratorium, “indoor storage facility” means any building primarily used for the indoor storage of goods, products, commodities, materials, supplies, and similar items for the primary purpose of supply chain distribution and fulfillment, including “storage warehouses” and “fulfillment centers” as those terms are defined at Rialto Municipal Code section 18.112.020.
This moratorium shall not apply to any application proposing a new indoor storage facility, or proposing an expansion or intensification of any existing indoor storage facility use, that has been deemed complete by the City, and:
Approved by the City Council or Planning Commission or projects with permits not yet expired; More than five hundred (500) linear feet from existing residential uses, churches, schools, and recreational parks; or Less than one hundred thousand (100,000) square feet in floor area; or Within the General Manufacturing (I-GM) land use district of the Rialto Airport Specific Plan.
SECTION 3. Duration of Ordinance. This Moratorium is enacted pursuant to the authority conferred upon the City Council of the City of Rialto by Government Code Section 65858, and therefore shall be in full force and effect immediately upon its adoption by a four-fifths (4/5) vote of the City Council. This Moratorium shall continue in effect for ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days from the date of its adoption and shall thereafter be of no further force and effect, unless, after notice pursuant to Government Code Section 65090 and a public hearing, the City Council extends the Moratorium for an additional period of time pursuant to Government Code Section 65858 or until the City Council adopts an ordinance addressing the issues raised by warehouses, distribution centers, and related uses SECTION 4. Report. During the period of this Moratorium, and any extension thereof, the City Manager or designees shall: (1) review and consider options for the regulation of indoor storage facilities and (2) shall issue a written report describing the measures which the City has taken to address the conditions which led to the adoption of this ordinance with the City Council ten (10) days prior the expiration of this Moratorium, or any extension thereof, and such report shall be made available to the public.
SECTION 5. Enforcement. The City of Rialto may enforce any provision of this Ordinance by mandamus, injunction, or any other appropriate civil remedy in any court of competent jurisdiction.
SECTION 6. The City Council finds that this ordinance is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that it will not have a significant effect or physical change to the environment.
SECTION 7. This Interim Ordinance is enacted pursuant to the authority conferred upon the City Council of the City of Rialto by Government Code Sections 36937 and 65858, and shall be in full force and effect immediately upon its adoption by a four-fifths (4/5) vote of the City Council as if and to the same extent that such ordinance had been adopted pursuant to each of the individual sections set forth hereinabove.
SECTION 8. Severability. Every section, provision, or part of this ordinance is declared severable from every other section, provision, or part of this ordinance. If any section, provision, or part of this ordinance is adjudged to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall not invalidate any other section, provision, or part of this ordinance.
SECTION 9. Effective Date. This Interim Ordinance shall take effect immediately and shall be of no further force and effect ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days thereafter unless the City Council extends such ordinance following a noticed public hearing or until the City Council adopts an ordinance addressing the issues raised by warehouses, distribution centers, and related uses.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 25th day of February, 2025. _________________________________
JOE BACA, MAYOR
ATTEST:
__________________________________
BARBARA MCGEE, CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
__________________________________
ERIC S. VAIL, CITY ATTORNEY
“Exhibit A”
10-DAY REPORT ON THE CITY RIALTO‘S URGENCY MORATORIUM
ON THE ESTABLISHMENT, EXPANSION, OR INTENSIFICATION OF “INDOOR STORAGE FACILITIES”, WITHIN THE JURISDICTIONAL BOUNDARIES OF THE CITY OF RIALTO AS REQUIRED BY GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858(d).
BACKGROUND:
On January 28th, 2025, pursuant to Government Code Sections 65858 and 36937, the City Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 1697, a 45-day urgency moratorium ordinance on the establishment, expansion, or intensification of “indoor storage facilities”, within the City of Rialto. The City Council adopted Ordinance No. 1697 in an effort to protect the public health, safety, and welfare by prohibiting the establishment of new, modified, or expanded warehouses. Under Government Code Section 65858(d), at least 10 days prior to the interim ordinance or expiration of the 45-day moratorium, the City is to issue a written report describing the measures taken to alleviate the conditions which led to the adoption of the moratorium.
The moratorium will expire on March 14, 2025, unless extended by the City Council. Pursuant to Government Code Section 65858(d).
MEASURES TAKEN TO ALLEVIATE THE CONDITIONS THAT LED TO THE ADOPTION OF THE URGENCY ORDINANCE:
Staff is assembling a team of representatives from the Community Development, Public Works, and Police Departments that will be needed to analyze existing and future conditions and develop appropriate regulations for indoor storage facilities, including fulfillment centers and storage warehouses, within 500 linear feet, measured from property line to property line, to existing residential uses, churches, schools, and recreational parks.
2. The City has assembled a technical and legal team that will be needed to study and implement the contemplated Municipal Code amendment changes. This team will produce a report to the Planning Commission summarizing the results of their evaluation and presenting recommendations for the Commission’s consideration.
3. City staff has commenced the process of reviewing Title 18 (Zoning) of the Rialto Municipal Code to identify sections that will need to be amended to address concerns from Ordinance No. 1697 and changes required by Assembly Bill 98 (AB98). Amendments will take into consideration setbacks, building heights, building size, finish grade of site and adjacent parcels, (i.e.) when considering amendments to the Municipal Code.
4. City staff has also begun reviewing other City plan or documents that may need to be amended to implement the contemplated Zoning Ordinance. Specific General Plan policies that would be recommended to implement a preferred amendment to the General Plan Land Use document.
5. Staff will create a webpage to keep stakeholders informed about progress made on the project. 4926-2303-8231 v1
- 4 -
4926-2303-8231 v1
- 1 -
1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
9 10
11 12
13 14
15 16
17 18
19 20
21 22
23 24
25 26
27 281
2 3
4 5
6 7
8 9
10 11
12 13
14 15
16 17
18 19
20 21
22 23
24 25
26 27
28 1
2 3
4 5
6 7
8 9
10 11
12 13
14 15
16 17
18 19
20 21
22 23
24 25
26 27
28 1
2 3
4 5
6 7
8 9
10 11
12 13
14 15
16 17
18 19
20 21
22 23
24 25
26 27
28 1
2 3
4 5
6 7
8 9
10 11
12 13
14 15
16 17
18 19
20 21
22 23
24 25
26 27
281
2 3
4 5
6 7
8 9
10 11
12 13
14 15
16 17
18 19
20 21
22 23
24 25
26 27
28 1
2 3
4 5
6 7
8 9
10 11
12 13
14 15
16 17
18 19
20 21
22 23
24 25
26 27
28 1
2 3
4 5
6 7
8 9
10 11
12 13
14 15
16 17
18 19
20 21
22 23
24 25
26 27
28