Moreno Valley Logistics Center

The Moreno Valley Logistics Center (MVLC) is located a mile east of Interstate 215 – the southern part of the city of Moreno Valley in Riverside County California. Over 12 months, a 1,331,763 square foot concrete tilt up shell on a 2,727,285 square foot area was completed.

Prior to construction, the land the site was built on was classified as “Farmland of Local Importance '' by the California Department of Conservation, but it has been deemed "vacant" since at least 1938. The purpose of the logistics center has seven basic goals according to those constructing it, some of which include “attracting new employment generating businesses” to the area and a better “jobs-housing balance” to help people avoid commuting. 

Unfortunately, big corporations – operating under the demands of the modern day consumer– see vast lands like the desert of Moreno Valley as “underutilized property.” As we continue to imagine a future where online ordering and next day delivery are staples of everyday life, we must consider the pressure that this places on the environment and who and what must feel the weight of this on-demand type of consumerism.

Throughout the process of proposing and building the Moreno Valley Logistics site, a 1.3 million square foot building, only a few amendments were considered and passed. Of these few was amendment P15-036, a Specific Plan Amendment (SPA), which benefited the warehouse developers by removing the 300-foot setback requirement adopted by the city of Moreno Valley in 1989. This demonstrates the ease of development in Moreno Valley, chauffeured by a lack of adequate consideration by city officials of the potential negative impacts.

Is “vacant” land really vacant?

A driving purpose of the MVLC, as stated in the Environmental Impact Report, is to “develop and maximize the buildout potential of a vacant or underutilized property in the MVIAP area that has access to available infrastructure”. Within the city of Moreno Valley, a significant portion of land is categorized as “vacant” (32%). While developing the land may provide immediate employment relief for those who are in search of jobs in Moreno Valley, deeming the land "vacant" is undermining its ecological value. Additionally, the development of “vacant” land will have a large impact on the Moreno Valley community, especially as much of this land is located near the interior of the city, residential areas, and parks.

What could this land have been if not for the Moreno Valley Logistics Center warehouse?

A biological field study was conducted on the project site by Glenn Lukos Associates (GLA), who found numerous common plant species present. These species include London Rocket (Sisymbrium irio), Common goldfields (Lasthenia californica), Common fiddleneck (Amsinkia menziessii var. intermedia), and Wild oat (Avena fatua). GLA also found a special-status wildlife species on the warehouse property - the San Diego black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus bennettii). Although GLA did not find any plant species of special-status on the project site, the destruction of any space that is home to common species can have negative impacts on the overall ecosystem. Further, the land would be converted from a pervious surface to an impervious one, decreasing the capacity of the land to capture carbon and naturally filter pollutants.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Report details some of the sustainability measures that developers implemented for the MLVC, such as drought-tolerant landscaping, electric car chargers and monitoring of air quality impacts. However, the CEQA report states that GHG emissions will not be an issue post construction when the project-related traffic will subside. Although this temporary project-related traffic will not be a major source of GHG emissions (it is important to note that the city of Moreno Valley has not adopted any numerical thresholds of significance for GHG emissions), the size of this warehouse and the ongoing transportation to and from the warehouse will continue to release GHG’s into the atmosphere for the duration of its use. The MVLC houses 653 total car parking spots with 411 truck-trailer parking spots (CEQA Report), which each will produce a significant amount of Carbon Dioxide and other harmful chemicals. On average the typical passenger vehicle releases 4.6 metric tons of Carbon Dioxide per year, which increases for larger vans and trucks (which will undoubtedly play a major role in the transportation to and from the warehouse) (www.epa.gov). Other environmental impacts, such as polluted runoff and noise pollution will also likely result. Ultimately, this warehouse will have consequences on the environment and surrounding communities that are potentially harmful, regardless of the number of sustainability measures put in place.

The Moreno Valley community has protested the logistics industry's expansion, but due to the number of warehouse development projects occurring simultaneously, the community's capacity has been stretched thin. As such, resistance was lacking previous to the MVLC's construction, and has centered mostly on the World Logistics Center (WLC), an even larger warehouse. The litigation to resist the WLC project involved actors such as the Center for Biological Diversity, Coalition for Clean Air, Earthjustice, Friends of the Northern San Jacinto Valley, the Southern California Environmental Justice Alliance, the San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society and the Sierra Club. The fight over this particular project lasted five years, and ended in April of 2021 in a compromise with the developer to offset the negative environmental impacts of the warehouse. 

Once again, developers were permitted to build a massive warehouse due to a greenwashing of the the project. Is offsetting pollution a valid solution to the intersectional environmental and community impacts that the mere presence of industrial-size buildings and the influx in trucks on the roads has? How can sustainability measures perpetuate the allowance of warehouse projects?

While the MVLC’s actions regarding sustainability is a step in the right direction, these measures only do so much. To develop a warehouse on previously unused land outweighs any environmental measures put in place – what was once a habitat for wildlife and source of carbon capture is now paved over. Small, sustainable-minded actions such as the inclusion of electric chargers acts merely as a bandaid to the problem at hand and act as a form of greenwashing that allows the logistics industry to continue expanding in Moreno Valley. As we look to the future, it is essential that the corporations building these warehouses are held to an environmental standard that has a tangible impact in offsetting the harm that is being inflicted on the land and community. Most importantly, Moreno Valley city planners must prioritize the needs of the community (and inherently the environment) before those of multinational corporations when producing future General Plans.