City council will weigh whether to move forward with a citywide ban on new warehouse development, following a Planning Commission recommendation to halt logistics expansion and preserve existing commercial sites.
Agenda includes a potential warehouse ban, new condominiums, traffic signal funding and the 2025 National Community Survey results.
City council will weigh whether to move forward with a citywide ban on new warehouse development, following a Planning Commission recommendation to halt logistics expansion and preserve existing commercial sites.
REDLANDS, Calif. — The Redlands City Council on Tuesday will consider whether to direct staff to draft an ordinance that would ban new warehouse and logistics development citywide, following a 5–1 recommendation from the Planning Commission last month. (Agenda item L-3)
Why it matters: The proposed action would prohibit construction of new warehouses in all zoning districts and specific plans and prevent property owners from assembling parcels for the purpose of building new logistics facilities.
Existing warehouses could continue operating as legal, conforming uses and would be allowed to rebuild after a fire or natural disaster— but only up to their current size and height.
Details: The recommendation stems from an Oct. 14 Planning Commission discussion in which commissioners raised concerns about continued warehouse redevelopment along the I-10 and 210 corridors, despite the limited number of remaining buildable sites. Commissioners said the city has already absorbed more than two decades of fast warehouse growth and should take steps to protect older commercial and industrial sites from being converted into logistics centers.
“The reason we’re having the conversation has little to do with remaining available sites as it stands today,” Vice Chair Matt Endsley said during the meeting. “It’s with protecting already developed sites.”
Endsley, who supported the ban, said the proposal would help preserve the city’s long-term land use goals and prevent developers from rapidly replacing legacy commercial properties with large distribution buildings.
Redlands has approved roughly 28 million square feet of warehousing over the past 25 years, Endsley noted—far outpacing any other land use type.
Commissioners Emily Elliott, Rosemarie Gonzalez and Maryn Mineo-Wells also backed the proposal, citing the loss of community landmarks such as Pharaoh’s Lost Kingdom and the former La-Z-Boy Furniture site, both redeveloped into distribution centers.
Commissioner Mark Stanson cast the lone dissenting vote, arguing the ban goes too far.
“I can’t support taking away the rights of people to be able to rebuild their building or do what they want with their property,” Stanson said.
According to the staff report prepared for Tuesday’s meeting, the ban would apply only to facilities defined as warehouses under the city’s zoning code—logistics centers 50,000 square feet or larger or buildings with six or more dock-high loading doors. Ancillary storage for manufacturing, service, or commercial uses would still be allowed.
What's next: The council’s discussion Tuesday will determine whether staff should begin drafting the formal ordinance language. If the council agrees with the Planning Commission’s recommendation, the ordinance would return to the Planning Commission for a public hearing before advancing back to the council for final approval.
The process could take several months, staff said.
Alternatives outlined in the staff report include declining to pursue the ban, modifying the scope of the proposal, or directing staff to return with additional analysis.
Environmental review is not required at this stage because the action does not trigger a project under the California Environmental Quality Act.
Explore what else is on the agenda for city council's Nov. 18 meeting:
Kathryne Mccann
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