Warehouse ban proposal allows more docks, taller buildings at existing warehouses

REDLANDS, Calif. — The Redlands Planning Commission on Tuesday will revisit a proposed citywide ban on new warehouses and logistics distribution facilities, including revisions that could allow some existing warehouse operators to expand building height or add truck docks under limited circumstances.

Why it matters: The commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing May 12 at 4 p.m. on a proposal to amend the city’s zoning regulations to prohibit new distribution warehouse projects while allowing existing facilities to continue operating as permitted or conditionally permitted uses (Ordinance Text Amendment No. 372).

Details: The latest draft follows an April 14 Planning Commission discussion in which commissioners asked staff to revise the ordinance to address redevelopment and modernization of existing warehouse properties.

Among the proposed changes are new definitions for “alteration” and “repair,” based on the California Building Code, intended to clarify what types of redevelopment work could occur at existing warehouse facilities.

The revised ordinance would also allow existing warehouse operators to seek approval for up to a 15% increase in interior building height, provided the expansion does not exceed the maximum height allowed by underlying zoning rules.

According to the staff report, a height increase and/or additional truck docks could be permitted for “technology upgrades, energy efficiency improvements, or other justifiable economic or environmental reasons” through a conditional use permit process. In other words, owners would need to justify the need for additional height or loading docks and seek approval from the Planning Commission. The city could also require traffic studies, landscaping plans or economic feasibility analyses depending on the scope of the proposed redevelopment.

Staff wrote that the possibility of height and/or loading dock increases could incentivize warehouse operators to retrofit older facilities with features required under the city’s 2023 warehouse ordinance, including energy efficiency upgrades, landscaping buffers, truck routing plans and other mitigation measures.

Another revision to the proposal would allow previously approved warehouse projects to move forward even after the ban takes effect, including the controversial Prologis warehouse project on Tennessee Street.

The proposal builds on years of debate in Redlands over the growth of logistics development and truck traffic near neighborhoods, schools and environmentally sensitive areas.

In May 2025, the Planning Commission directed staff to explore a citywide warehouse prohibition with grandfathering provisions and zoning changes aimed at limiting future warehouse expansion.

A warehouse ban was also discussed in 2023 during debate over the city’s warehouse regulation ordinance.

If the Planning Commission adopts Resolution No. 1745, the proposal would move to the City Council for final approval.

The Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at 4 p.m. in the Redlands City Council Chambers, 35 Cajon St.

The agenda and staff report are available here.

Read our full coverage of warehouse developments in Redlands and surrounding communities.