The city of Riverside has proposed projects to build two new warehouses next to residential developments, as well as a youth sports facility, bringing concern to Riverside residents.
The two proposals are for a 1.4-million square-foot warehouse adjacent to a neighborhood in Sycamore Highlands and a 308,000-square-foot warehouse across Placentia Lane from the Ab Browns Sports Complex.
The Riverside City Council met Oct. 25 to discuss “good neighbor guidelines” for the warehouse and the
industrial projects near the residential areas.
Mike Gardner, a city council member, said there has not been a definitive decision made about the warehouses.
“We still have a lot of work to do, but the biggest issue right now is where the warehouse is going to be in relation to the residents’ homes and the soccer fields,” Gardner said. “The project proponents are more than willing to work with the residents to find anything that will alleviate the concern, and we are doing our best to work with the residents.”
One of the guidelines suggested having a barrier of at least 1,000 feet between the warehouses and residents’ homes and engaging in health-risk discussions.
Dr. Marc Weniger, associate professor of business at California Baptist University, said not many residents would like to have construction going on in their backyard, in general.
“The most important thing they should look at is the impact of the warehouses and how to do zoning correctly,” Weniger said. “There is also community concern, such as, are residents going to be able to see the warehouse or will it be covered by trees? So it is really hard to discuss without much detail.”
Some of the concerns from Riverside residents are noise, air quality and truck traffic that come from projects being planned in their own neighborhood.
Alexa Haisan, senior accounting major, said there is already heavy traffic and pollution in Riverside and the two warehouses would make the situation worse.
“If the two warehouses are built, there are upsides and downsides with benefits of jobs, but at the same time, it will lead to higher populations in both areas,” Haisan said. “Ultimately, the warehouses will do more harm than good.”
According to The Press Enterprise, Riverside’s planning commission made a decision Nov. 3 to delay the project until Dec. 15 for planners to respond to comments and concerns from residents.
