Redlands warehouse ban stalls as council debates future of existing facilities

REDLANDS, Calif. — Redlands City Council members voiced support Tuesday for prohibiting new warehouse development but delayed adopting the proposed "ban" as they wrestled with a separate question: What should the city's existing warehouses be allowed to do in the future?

The council voted unanimously Sept. 1 to continue the public hearing to Oct. 6, directing staff to rewrite provisions governing existing warehouses before bringing the ordinance back.

The proposed prohibition on new warehouses remains unchanged. The unresolved debate centers on whether existing facilities should be allowed to increase building heights or add truck docks, and what environmental benefits operators should be required to provide in exchange.

Council supports ban on new warehouses

The ordinance is the latest step in a yearslong debate over warehouse development in Redlands. The Planning Commission began considering additional restrictions in 2025, and the City Council directed staff in November to draft a new ordinance. The Planning Commission voted 5-1 in May to recommend approval with several revisions.

Under the proposed ordinance, new warehouses and logistics distribution centers would no longer be allowed in Redlands' commercial and industrial zones.

The city's definition applies to warehouses with at least 50,000 square feet of gross floor area or more than five truck docks or dock-high loading doors.

The ordinance would also prohibit assembling parcels for the purpose of developing, enlarging, expanding or intensifying a warehouse or logistics distribution facility.

Existing legally established warehouses would remain conforming uses, while projects with valid, unexpired land-use entitlements would retain their development rights. Existing warehouses damaged by fire or another disaster could also be rebuilt to their previous square footage and height.

Council members shared agreement Tuesday over those provisions.

"I'm hoping tonight we will approve a warehouse ban and listen to the people of Redlands who have been telling us for years that they do not want any more warehouses in this city," Council Member Denise Davis said.

Council weighs redevelopment allowances

The council discussion centered on provisions allowing existing warehouses to seek approval to increase building height, add truck docks and develop refrigeration capabilities.

The intent was to give older warehouses an opportunity to modernize and make more efficient use of their existing footprint. Under the Planning Commission's recommendation, existing warehouses could seek permission to increase their current building height by up to 15%, provided the increase did not exceed the maximum height already allowed in the property's zoning district.

Davis questioned how existing warehouses could make environmentally beneficial upgrades without necessarily allowing the proposed height increase.

“Maybe we don't do a 15%, but how can we ensure that they can add solar, for example, or make amendments, make changes to make them more energy efficient and sustainable?” Davis asked.

City Planner Brian Foote said proposed changes could be reviewed through the conditional use permit process, including environmental review where applicable. He added that allowing additional height could serve as an incentive for operators to invest in retrofits or energy-efficiency upgrades.

That prompted a broader discussion about what the city should receive in exchange for allowing additional height or truck docks.

Mayor Pro Tem Marc Shaw questioned whether operators could be required to demonstrate a measurable environmental benefit. Development Services Director Sean Reilly said projects seeking those changes would already be subject to applicable sustainability requirements, including solar, cool roofs, landscaping and buffering where feasible.

Shaw said he wanted a stronger standard.

“I would want them to have to show that there is no further negative environmental and preferably a positive impact because of what these changes are that they're proposing,” Shaw said. “I think that's where we're trying to get is to say, ‘Don't make things any worse.’”

During deliberations, Mayor Mario Saucedo proposed removing the 15% restriction and using the applicable zone maximum instead — potentially allowing a greater increase in height than under the Planning Commission's recommendation.

Council Member Paul Barich said he supported allowing existing warehouses to modernize, including installing newer equipment that could improve energy efficiency and reduce pollution. But he also cautioned against writing the ordinance in a way that could allow developers to circumvent the city's intended restrictions.

“I don't want to be backed in the corner again where we're going to be told something and then all of a sudden they find some loopholes,” Barich said. “I just don't want to be put in that situation.”

Council members ultimately directed staff to develop a “demonstrated net benefit” standard tied to environmental impacts before an existing warehouse could increase its height or add truck docks.

Residents, industry weigh in

Several residents argued Tuesday that redevelopment allowances could undermine the purpose of a warehouse ban.

Michael Paisner, urged the council to remove provisions allowing height increases, additional truck docks and conversions to refrigerated space, arguing they could undermine the intent of the ban.

“You said you couldn't say no when the water park location became a warehouse. You said the same thing, you couldn't say no, when the former Lazy Boy factory was approved to be a nearly 40-foot-tall warehouse,” Paisner said. “Are you really going to say no to any warehouse expansion when it is inevitably asked for?”

Another resident, Germaine Miles, used the completed warehouse on California Street as a reason for skepticism toward promises made by warehouse developers.

"They stood here and said 200 permanent jobs," Miles said. "That warehouse has been completed for over a year now and it sits empty."

Miles urged the council to remove “loopholes” that could allow existing warehouses to “get bigger and bring in more trucks.”

Industry representatives argued that existing facilities need flexibility to modernize if the city wants to prevent older warehouses from becoming obsolete.

Bill Blankenship, representing the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, asked the council to eliminate the 15% height limit and instead allow warehouses to reach the maximum height already permitted in their zoning district, giving some facilities greater room to expand upward.

"No new buildings will be built, but it also allows for the modernization of the existing investments that have been made by companies here in the community who employ people here in the community," Blankenship said.

Without greater flexibility, he said, older Redlands warehouses would have to compete against millions of square feet of newer facilities in surrounding communities.

Nicole Torstvet of Prologis submitted written comments making the same request.