Large warehouse complexes near Sycamore Canyon illustrate the industrial development that sparked years of community organizing. City Council's new regulations establish tiered size limits based on distance from residential areas. (Brenda Flowers)
After nearly six years of community organizing and regulatory development, Riverside City Council approved warehouse restrictions Tuesday night in a 4-3 vote.
The new regulations establish limits on warehouse sizes based on proximity to sensitive areas like schools, parks and residential neighborhoods. They also prohibit warehouses larger than 400,000 square feet in all industrial zones except the General Industrial (I) zone.
The effort began in March 2020 when the Land Use Committee first workshopped industrial development guidelines. But following community opposition to the Sycamore Hills Distribution Center project in January 2022, the Council directed staff to comprehensively review and strengthen those regulations.
"This has been a multi-year effort," said Associate Planner Daniel Palafox during Tuesday's presentation.
The ordinance creates a tiered system restricting warehouse development intensity based on distance from sensitive receptors—defined as residential areas, K-12 schools, designated parks, daycare facilities, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and hospices.
Under the new rules:
Warehouses within 200 feet of sensitive receptors are limited to 10,000 square feet
Those between 200-800 feet can reach 100,000 square feet
Facilities 800-1,500 feet away are capped at 400,000 square feet
Only sites more than 1,500 feet from sensitive receptors can exceed 400,000 square feet, subject to floor area ratio limits
A new Floor Area Ratio (FAR) table specifically for warehousing facilities limits the total building space allowed on parcels based on lot size, proximity to sensitive receptors and underlying zoning.
The regulations also require warehouse projects to post large on-site notification signs early in the review process and expand the public notification radius from 300 feet to 1,000 feet.
Warehouses within 1,000 feet of sensitive receptors that generate 150 or more truck trips per day will now require Health Risk Assessments prepared according to South Coast Air Quality Management District guidelines.
Staff separated warehousing regulations from general industrial development standards to ensure the restrictions apply narrowly to logistics facilities without affecting manufacturing, research, or technology operations.
The ordinance allows "incidental warehousing" for other permitted industrial uses without subjecting them to the stricter warehousing standards.
All new industrial development adjacent to residential areas must now provide a minimum 10-foot solid masonry wall and a 20-foot landscaping buffer comprised of two rows of staggered trees.
New warehouse projects in business manufacturing park and general industrial zones requiring conditional use permits must post 4-foot-by-8-foot "Notice of Filing" signs visible from public streets within 60 days of application submittal. The signs must remain throughout the review process.
Project notifications will now include tenant occupants in multi-tenant buildings, not just property owners.
Public Comment Reflects Regional Divide
Tuesday's hearing drew residents, labor representatives and business advocates presenting contrasting views on the regulations.
Mike McCarthy of R-NOW and the Sierra Club argued the city has already lost its regional leadership position. "18 months ago, if you had passed this, this would've been a gold standard," McCarthy said. "Now you guys are going to be silver because Perris went ahead and took this and they made it better."
McCarthy pointed to the approved Sycamore Hills warehouse. "It's built and sitting empty blocking Sycamore Canyon," he said, adding that Perris, Redlands and Moreno Valley are now considering warehouse moratoriums while Riverside debates modest restrictions.
"Our hope when we started advocating for these guidelines almost four years ago was that Riverside could be the gold standard in the region for protecting its residents. But we've already been outdone," said Jennifer Larratt-Smith of R-NOW.
Carolyn Rasmussen, a Ward 4 resident, criticized suggestions to reduce public notification requirements, arguing "preventing people from knowing about projects that are being developed is really disappointing."
Labor and business representatives countered that the regulations would stifle economic development. Omar Kian of Carpenters Local 951 warned against sending the wrong message to developers. "Why would we implement an ordinance that's going to restrict that, that's going to tell our developers we're closed for business," Kian said, emphasizing union training programs at Ramona and La Sierra high schools need local job opportunities.
Bill Blankenship of NAIOP Inland Empire called the Floor Area Ratio restrictions a "defacto moratorium." He urged the Council to adopt only AB 98 requirements rather than additional local restrictions.
Nicholas Adcock, president and CEO of the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce, said the city's existing Good Neighbor Guidelines "are among the most robust in the region" and argued for simply bringing them into compliance with state law.
Council Approves Regulations 4-3
Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes, who represents Ward 2 with the largest warehouse footprint in the city, moved to approve staff recommendations. "My goal is for us to continue to carve ways and find jobs for projects that aren't going to have negative health implications in our community," Cervantes said.
Councilmember Philip Falcone supported the regulations, rejecting characterizations of a "defacto moratorium" as hyperbolic. "I could not find a single resident who would be in support of more warehousing in the city of Riverside," Falcone said, emphasizing the ordinance represents a compromise that "is watered down" from what community advocates sought.
The three dissenting votes—Councilmembers Steven Robillard (Ward 3), Chuck Conder (Ward 4) and Sean Mill (Ward 5)—expressed concerns about restricting economic opportunities. Conder questioned the policy's impact, noting staff identified only seven sites citywide that could accommodate warehouses over 300,000 square feet under the new rules. "So we're chasing future dollars coming into our city and damn good jobs by a bunch of hardworking people for potentially seven little lots," Conder said.
Councilmember Steven Robillard expressed concerns about how the regulations might affect industrial property redevelopment near the airport, where residential and industrial zones intermingle. "We keep on raising the bar higher and higher and I think it can eliminate properties that work being considered for redevelopment," Robillard said.
Councilmember Jim Perry proposed a successful amendment requiring Council review of the regulations in one year, acknowledging "both sides make compelling arguments." Cervantes accepted the amendment, and the ordinance passed 4-3.
Truck Routes and General Plan Update
The city is currently updating its General Plan Circulation Element to identify designated truck routes as required by AB 98, with adoption expected in 2027.
The need for formal truck routes reflects ongoing enforcement challenges. In November 2025, Riverside police cited dozens of commercial truck drivers during a checkpoint on Central Avenue, issuing 57 citations for violating municipal code restrictions on three-axle trucks illegally using city streets as freeway shortcuts.
The approved amendments direct warehouse operators to submit truck routing plans for approval before certificates of occupancy are issued, though formal truck routes have not yet been established.
Community Advocacy Impact
The regulations represent the culmination of sustained organizing by groups like Riverside Neighbors Opposed to Warehouses (R-NOW) and the Mission Grove Neighborhood Alliance, which mobilized hundreds of residents to oppose warehouse proposals near their communities.
R-NOW has become one of the city's most visible grassroots organizations through campaigns against projects like the West Campus Upper Plateau development—a proposed 1.8 million square foot warehouse complex by the Lewis Group of Companies near Mission Grove and Orangecrest.
R-NOW received the Riverside Neighborhood Partnership's Neighborhood Spirit Award in 2024 for grassroots activism against warehouse proliferation. In October 2024, the March Joint Powers Authority unanimously rejected the March Innovation Hub project 8-0 following testimony from more than 100 speakers, many opposing warehouse development—a reversal that reflected shifting regional sentiment about logistics facility proliferation.
UCR's "Live From the Frontline" project documents how warehouse development has transformed communities from Valley Truck Farms to Bloomington, with researchers warning that warehouse jobs marketed to communities are "robot-replaceable" and may evaporate within 5-10 years, leaving "huge blocks of land providing almost no jobs but all the environmental burdens."
Implementation Timeline
The ordinance becomes effective 30 days after adoption. The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval in February 2025 following Land Use Committee direction in November 2024.
City staff emphasized in the staff report that the regulations balance community protections with economic development goals by maintaining flexibility for non-warehouse industrial uses while implementing stricter controls on logistics facilities that generate truck traffic.
City Council will discuss placing tax measures on the June ballot including a potential 0.25% sales tax generating $21 million annually and consider warehouse development restrictions.
