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Background

 The Pass Action Group (PAG) was created in November 2021 by a group of volunteers from Banning and Beaumont for the primary objective of stopping the final approval of a warehouse project known as Banning Point. This project is on the north side of Sun Lakes Blvd east of Highland Springs Ave. in the City of Banning, directly across from Sun Lakes County Club’s main entrance. Please go the www.passactiongroup.org for more information and about the PAG and the actions we are taking to stop this project.

History and Current Status 

On October 19, 2021, many members of the public spoke at the Banning Planning Commission meeting against approval of the design review for the Banning Point project (the Warehouse). The Commission at this time postponed a decision. On December 1, 2021, the issue came back to the Planning Commission. Despite heavy opposition, the Commission voted 3 to 2 to approve. The PAG appealed this decision to the City Council. On February 17, 2022, our appeal was heard by the City Council and was denied - effectively clearing the way for the project to be built. On February 20, 2022, a Town Hall was held, attended by over three hundred supporters, a near-unanimous voice vote expressed support for filing a lawsuit to stop the project.

Since November 2021, the PAG has been registered with the IRS as a 501 (c) (4) organization. Donors from the local community have helped fund this endeavor. To date, we have received donations from over 950 community members and businesses. All donations are going to legal fees and ancillary costs such as printing of flyers, mailings, etc. The Board of Directors of the Pass Action Group and supporting committees are volunteers. All financial support is needed and appreciated by the community.

Currently, all bills are paid. We are continuing to raise funds for legal fees and other necessary expenses. As you can imagine this will take the whole community to stop this abhorrent decision by our city leadership and staff. See below for donation information.

On April 18, 2022, the PAG filed a Petition for Writ of Mandate in Riverside Superior Court. Our attorneys cited four causes of action.

#1 – Violation of CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) - This relates to the Environmental Impact Report. 

#2 – Violation of Rights to Due Process – This relates to Council members showing clear advocacy FOR the project before the discussion and vote. 

#3 – Violation of Banning Municipal Code – This relates to Council members showing a clear bias FOR the project before the discussion and vote. 

#4 – Violations of State planning and zoning laws, Banning Municipal Code and Banning City Council resolution 2005-91. This relates to the City’s General Plan and Specific Plan. The full PDF version is available at www.passactiongroup.org/writ-of-mandate

Upcoming events

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCLED - June 16, 2022 - The PAG will begin a campaign of canvassing Sun Lakes for the purpose of disseminating information and fundraising requests. Interested volunteers please contact Don Day @ 951-392-4029.   

June 20, 2022 – The PAG has a scheduled meeting with the Judge assigned to our case. Currently, the Judge assigned is the Honorable Judge Craig Reiner.

Donation Information Checks, Made payable to:          

Pass Action Group can be mailed or hand-delivered to our Treasurer – 

Jeannie Lloyd, at:                               

4832 Crenshaw Circle                                    

Banning, CA 92220   

Or, you may make Online Donations at:   www.givebutter.com/passactiongroupbanning           

Email Pass Action Group: passactiongroup2022@gmail.com

The Sun May 24, 2022   

Colton will have another year to analyze how best to address the adverse impacts warehouses have on the community after city leaders this month unanimously extended a moratorium they implemented on such facilities this time last year. The ban is set to expire May 3, 2023, though elected officials can repeal it sooner. Three warehouse projects with applications that were accepted before the City Council established the initial 45-day moratorium on May 4, 2021, will continue as planned.

Inland Empire is warehouse central, but how did it happen? 

New warehouses could be kept 1,000 feet from homes if bill passes 

Why you see so many semi trucks parked along Inland Empire roads, freeways

Inland Empire 3rd in nation for warehouse leases of 1 million square feet or more 

Since calling for that respite a year ago, city staffers and a committee comprised of council members Ernest Cisneros and Isaac Suchil and Planning Commission members Gary Grossich and Angel Delgado have analyzed existing regulations and researched the negative impacts warehouses, distribution centers and truck storage facilities have on neighborhoods, according to a staff report.

Current regulations and development standards in surrounding cities also have been studied to identify what could be implemented in Colton. The four-person committee held three meetings last year at which they and city officials began discussing the research data and staff recommendations. City staffers last year also met with industry stakeholders and members of the community to solicit input. 

And yet, even with 12 months to study the issue, “the conditions which necessitated adoption of the Moratorium continue to exist at the present time,” city staffers wrote in their report. 

Colton last year was one of a handful of Inland Empire cities to hit pause on approving new warehouses in response to a groundswell of community pushback on the proliferation of such facilities near sensitive uses. Riverside implemented a temporary ban in March 2020, and Jurupa Valley did the same less than a year later. Twice in that time San Bernardino has weighed the pros and cons of establishing a moratorium on new warehouses, and twice the vote has failed. 

Earlier this year, the Redlands Planning Commission recommended the City Council hit pause, though the proposal has not yet been brought forward. Nevertheless, in Colton, certain code amendments, policy initiatives and focused studies have gained traction.

It looks like the indoor warehouse boom won’t move next door to Westmont Village. The president of the company that owns the Riverside-area retirement community said Tuesday (May 17) it was abandoning plans to build warehouses on vacant land next to Westmont, a proposal that has met with strong opposition from the share of Westmont residents. Instead, Andy Plant of La Jolla-based Westmont Living said he plans to develop homes on the land. 

“We’re committed to Westmont Village for the long term and we don’t want to create long-term issues that will negatively affect the community,” Plant said in a phone interview. “At the same time, we try to understand how the land can be used. At this point, it looks like the way forward is residential. He added: “We really listened to the residents and that was a big factor in our decision.” 

Plant sent a letter announcing his change of plans to Westmont residents. Christina Miller, who lives in Westmont, said while she was “cautiously optimistic” about Plant’s comments, “I’m not celebrating yet.” Miller remains concerned that warehouses could still be built next door. “I’m pretty happy it happened,” she said. “But I’m not really convinced either.” Formerly known as Air Force Village West, Westmont occupies land that was once part of March Air Force Base before being reduced to an air reserve base in the 1990s. 

Plant’s company wanted the March Joint Powers Authority, the public body with authority over land use on the former military property, to rezone vacant land west and south of Westmont for industrial use. Plans called for a 1 million square foot warehouse and three other logistics buildings ranging in size from 43,332 square feet to 83,551 square feet. 

Westmont residents feared the warehouses would bring in toxic fumes from diesel trucks and ruin their quality of life with noise and light pollution. “Aside from the health effects – the noise, the lights – I really don’t see how I or others on this street … could peacefully exist here,” Westmont resident Jo Crosbie said in February. 

The land is near the Ben Clark Training Center, which trains law enforcement personnel. Plant said it was pursuing industrial development after hearing concerns from officials that building houses near the center would lead to noise complaints. Amazon and UPS facilities are close to the field, Plant said. “From my point of view, it would have made sense to do residential or industrial,” he says, because the land represents a transition zone between housing and warehouses. 

Plant said he met with locals and heard their opposition to the logistics. He said after receiving feedback from the office of Riverside County Supervisor Kevin Jeffries — who represents Westmont and sits on the March JPA board — and the Ben Clark Center, he now plans to build homes on the land with a berm separating them from the training center. to control noise. Plant said he didn’t know how many homes would be built on the land or if they would be age-restricted like Westmont’s homes. He added that it would take his civil engineering firm six to nine months to assess the environmental impact of the houses, with construction in at least a year.

 Miller said if housing is built, she hopes it will be for people 55 and older. “If (Plant) expands Westmont Village…that would be great,” she said. While it looks like warehouses won’t be Westmont’s neighbors, logistics loom large in the area around Highway 215 and March Air Reserve Base, driven by strong e-commerce demand; cheap, flat, vacant land suitable for warehouses; easy access to highways and rail lines; and the Inland Empire’s proximity to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. 

More than 1.8 million square feet of storage space – approximately 32 football fields – are planned for vacant lots near the Orangecrest and Mission Grove neighborhoods of Riverside, not far from Westmont. Sandwiched between 215 and the airbase, a 1.9 million square foot Target distribution center is under construction. 

While warehouses employ thousands and anchor the domestic economy, critics argue it’s not worth the air pollution, truck traffic and other ills associated with warehouses, which squeeze closer to homes and businesses. schools. Logistics complexes are also being sought for sites near senior communities in Banning and Beaumont, as demand for warehouse space drives new logistics projects in the San Gorgonio Pass and Desert.