A scaled-down version of a plan to bring warehouse space to Hemet fell short after the City Council again voted to deny the project.
The 3-2 vote at the council’s July 14 meeting followed hours of public testimony from supporters and foes of the Newland Simpson project — the latest clash in a long-running debate over the value of warehouses in the Inland Empire.
Council members in April voted 5-0 against the project, which at the time called for two warehouses totaling 1.19 million square feet to be built on a 75-acre site near the junction of Warren and Simpson roads and Domenigoni Parkway in southwest Hemet.
This time, developer Newland Capital Group of Irvine proposed just one warehouse of 884,760 square feet with 146 dock doors. The revised project also did away with an 8.9-acre trailing parking lot.
Newland lined up Rialto Pacific LLC, which supplies retailers like Costco, Target and Walmart, as a tenant. Once built, the warehouse would have supported an estimated 1,253 jobs, according to a city staff report.
Local jobs were a key part of Tom Donahue’s pitch to the council. Donahue, a managing director for development at Newland, said the warehouse would employ Hemet residents who drive to places like Ontario, Rialto and Fontana for work.
“This city and its residents are looking for jobs. They’re looking for ways to stay close to home,” Donahue told councilmembers.
“I believe that’s the constituency that needs to (be heard) the loudest today is the folks that want to stay here, spend their money here, work here, (and) not commute” outside of Hemet.
Donahue’s words didn’t persuade critics, who feared the smaller warehouse would still become an air pollution magnet attracting diesel-powered delivery trucks. Critics also said the warehouse would ruin pavement, clog roads with truck traffic and spoil the scenery near a gateway to the city.
Noise, traffic and air pollution would be 40% less with the smaller warehouse, Donahue said, adding that critic’s fears about the volume of truck traffic were exaggerated.
A 40% reduction wasn’t enough for Councilmember Connie Howard-Clark. “I’m not in fear of change,” she said. “The change I’m in fear of is going to be what we cannot undo.”
Councilmembers Linda Krupa and Joe Males supported the smaller project.
“For me, this project checks the boxes,” Males said. “Property rights respected, environmental concerns addressed, public benefits secured, and local revenue generated.”
Mayor Jackie Peterson said while she “feels for” residents who “don’t get to spend a lot of time with their families” due to long commutes, she was struck by a visit to the San Bernardino area during the Los Angeles wildfires.
Smoke from those fires hung over the skies before clearing up the next morning, Peterson said. But when she drove back to Hemet, “all I could see was smoke,” she said, raising her fears about air pollution lingering in Hemet due to its bowl-like topography.
Males and Krupa voted in favor of the project while Howard-Clark, Peterson and Councilmember Tom Lodge voted against.
Supporters say the industry, which exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic and now occupies more than 1 billion square feet in the region, is a vital economic sector employing thousands and offering a path to a middle-class life.
Critics said those jobs often don’t pay a livable wage and could succumb to automation. And they argue jobs don’t excuse the higher risk of cancer and other health threats linked to diesel exhaust from warehouse-bound trucks.
