Commission denies bid for warehouse on Murrieta Road

By Doug Spoon, Editor

By a 3-2 vote, the Menifee Planning Commission last week voted against a recommendation by city staff to approve a warehouse project on Murrieta Road south of Ethanac Road.

The topic of warehouses has been a controversial one in Menifee, and a large crowd showed up at City Hall last Wednesday to testify on both sides of the issue. Those supporting the proposal were primarily union laborers claiming to be local residents who would benefit from the jobs such a project would create. Opponents included residents who live adjacent to the project site.

The proposed project site was located south of Floyd Avenue (a dirt road), east of Geary Street (also a dirt road), west of Murrieta Road, and north of McLaughlin Road. Further north from Floyd Avenue is Ethanac Road, which is part of Menifee’s designated Economic Development Corridor bordering the City of Perris to the north.

According to a staff report, the project called for a 517,720-square-foot warehouse building with 20,320 square feet of ground floor office space, 7,000 square feet of mezzanine office space, 505,932 square feet of warehouse space, and would be approximately 55 feet tall.

“The project would include 90 dock-high doors and four grade-level truck doors,” the staff report stated. “Approximately 28 trailer parking spaces would be provided in the northern truck court and 64 trailer parking spaces would be provided in the southern truck court, within areas secured by sliding gates. The proposed project would also provide 390 passenger car parking spaces. Access to the proposed project would be provided via two driveways from Geary Street and three driveways from Murrieta Road.”

The project would’ve required widening Murrieta Road south of Ethanac Road to four lanes and extending Geary Street north from the project site to Ethanac Road. The site is bordered by open fields to the east, west and south. However, a small residential development with about 30 homes is located immediately north of the site.

According to the plan, there would be only a 25-foot buffer between a truck entrance and homes. Residents and some commissioners expressed concern about noise, pollution and added traffic of the project. Of special concern was the staff report’s statement that the Environmental Impact Report indicated “significant and unavoidable” impacts of Greenhouse Gas emissions and noise beyond the standard for approval.

A consultant involved with writing the EIR stated that she believed there were “overriding considerations” that would make the pros outweigh the cons for the project. These include enhanced local economy, alternative transportation mode benefits, transformation of an underutilized site, and “employment generating uses.”

Some commissioners weren’t so sure.

“My concern is the pollution, noise and traffic,” said Commissioner Joe Long, who voted against the project. “I don’t fully understand how a road being improved will accommodate the extra traffic. I think we should wait until we have a concrete ideas of when Ethanac Road will be fully improved. It’s also the border between Perris and Menifee, so it would take cooperation between the cities.”

That isn’t happening at this time. One of the speakers opposing the project was John Fox, the city attorney for the City of Perris, who said Perris officials are concerned about the environmental impact of the project. The cities of Perris and Menifee have sued each other over their actions concerning that Economic Development Corridor.

Bob Powell, who lives adjacent to the site, expressed his opposition to the project.

“There would be only a 25-foot barrier,” he said. “We would be hearing back-up truck alarms and air brakes 24 hours a day. And Floyd Avenue is only a dirt road. If you pave Geary Street, we would get a lot of the added traffic.”

Commissioner Chris Thomas originally said he was inclined to vote yes, but only because he believed the developer had satisfied all the requirements in the EDC. He said he believes the intent of the EDC zoning was not to include warehouses, but “unfortunately, every project that has come before us has been warehouses. I’d like the City Council to consider amending the definition of the EDC to stop these kinds of developments.”

Ultimately, Thomas joined Long in voting no, along with Commission Chair Jeff LaDue, who said he was especially concerned about the homes “immediately adjacent” to the project and the impact it would have on home values.

Randy Madrid and Ben Diederich were the only two commissioners who voted in favor of the project. Even then, Madrid said that although he liked the project, he had concerns about the large number of warehouses being proposed in the city.

It is likely that the developer will appeal the decision to the City Council, which can vote to overrule the Planning Commission’s decision. If the City Council agrees with the Planning Commission, the developer could consider legal action.