Warehouse ordinance

Asked the council to make the warehouse ordinance complete by covering data centers, citing noise, water use (as much as 900 families), and power demand, and asked for CUP requirements, setbacks, noise limits, and closed-loop cooling.

Urged Lodge and Howard-Clark not to recuse themselves in response to the Lansing letter, saying constituents elected them to vote.

Thanked the council for listening to residents through the crafting of the ordinance, calling it a terrific start despite the rushed timeline.

Opposed warehouses, arguing they don't create local jobs, strain water supplies, and would bring chemical fire risks to a tight-knit urban area.

Also for Lansing Companies; argued the ordinance is heavy-handed, hurts tax revenue and jobs, raised Brown Act and litigation concerns, and asked Lodge and Howard-Clark to recuse themselves.

Representing Lansing Industries, asked the council to pause, noting the public hasn't reviewed the latest changes and only three or four parcels in the city can fit a 400,000-square-foot facility.

Thanked staff for incorporating her comments, but urged the city to study cumulative electricity impacts, citing San Jacinto Commerce Center data showing warehouse power use equal to every home in San Jacinto.

Said residents are being left outside the planning process, staff is using the council as a rubber stamp, and urged the council to enshrine community engagement as its legacy.

Noted Hemet is already identified by CalEPA as a disadvantaged community for air pollution and asked the council to weigh that in any warehouse decisions.

Former council member gave a history lesson: only ~290 acres of manufacturing zoning remain (from 1,010), just six parcels of 15+ acres, and the Kirby land is constrained by a flight path; praised the point-of-sale incentives.

Said it took a developer to force this issue, thanked the city attorney for explanations, and supported tier one but said tiers two and three need to go back to the drawing table.

Speaking for Southern California Edison, asked the council to expressly exclude CPUC-regulated electric utility facilities from the ordinance, citing 24-hour notice concerns.

Attorney for Lansing Companies asked the council to slow down and decline to introduce the ordinance, citing lack of landowner consultation and the rushed timeline.

Longtime resident and retired teacher raised earthquake fault concerns for tier two/three warehouses, inadequate notice, and regional warehouse sprawl like Moreno Valley and Temecula.

Thanked staff for a comprehensive plan but wanted tier one only, a cumulative concentration study, a road tax for trucks, and no ministerial approvals.

Supported tier one for local manufacturers but said buffers of 100-250 feet are inadequate (Moreno Valley adopted 900 feet; CARB recommends 1,000) and asked the council not to adopt until residents have time to review.

Favored renewing the moratorium for more time and canceling the three grandfathered warehouse projects until rigorous guidelines are in place.

Asked why, with two years to plan, the public first saw the ordinance Tuesday; recommended keeping the existing ordinance with interim restrictions limited to tier one and EIRs for projects over 50,000 square feet.

Said warehouses are likely a done deal once the freeway connector comes through; can accept small or mid-sized warehouses but opposes the large ones.

Former commissioner who provided history: the MSHCP took 1,010 acres out of industrial play, leaving only about 290 acres; suggested adding point-of-sale incentives to attract sales-tax-generating operations.

President of the Green Coalition board; said the city keeps repeating the Kirby mistake by not engaging the community, and asked the commission to pause and hold real workshops before voting.

Lives near the Kirby warehouse and hates it; said warehouses don't provide living wages, roads can't handle trucks, and the valley's air pollution harms seniors with respiratory illness.

18-year resident who appreciates the town's tree-lined streets; said most people don't want warehouses at all and the city should recruit other businesses and develop vacant lots instead.

Asked why there was no community workshop, flagged the tier-three threshold having no ceiling, warned about parcel segmentation loopholes, and urged keeping business park zoning separate from logistics uses.

35-year resident who loves the valley's openness; said the Inland Empire has 8.7% warehouse vacancy and Hemet doesn't need more warehouses or diesel truck traffic ruining the horizon.