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Industrial Development |
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Riverside County seems intent on moving forward as fast as possible with unplanned, inappropriate industrial developments without public review, thought or planning. This development moves forward at break-neck speed, without even having completed their new, highly-touted, Integrated General Plan. Recognizing that the old general plan is inadequate, Riverside officials brag about their "far-sighted, innovative" program that would integrate transportation, open-space, habitat land, land use priorities, and address air quality issues. But, instead of waiting until the plan is completed, the County continues to permit major developments with little, if any, consideration of their impacts upon existing communities. By the time that time that planning process is completed, there will be no land left to implement any plan - no matter how good it may be. Little attention is being given by officials to the severe impacts such extensive industrial development is having upon existing communities and our families' quality of life. They seem more intent on how fast they can permit applications, than on the impacts those projects will have on those of us that already live here - and are paying taxes to support the county. Hundreds of complaints from residents about the insane increase in development have led to the formation of a group to stop it. The group HOME (Help Our Mira Loma Environment) is committed to stopping the industrial development around residential areas. We won a moratorium on all industrial development until the new general plan is adopted and have focused attention on air quality issues from diesel exhaust. Another group CCAEJ is working with is the Glen Avon Revitalization Committee (GARC). Working through CCAEJ, we have purchased 13 acres to build a community park and environmental education center. Located on Mission Blvd. in the heart of Glen Avon, we are moving forward to create a new face on Glen Avon and breath new life into the community. Both groups are concerned about their communities' future, the health of their children and the safety of their streets. Join with them to make your community the place you want for your families. Together we can make a difference. These are tha same community people that took on Auto Nation auto reconditioning facility a few years ago. That facility would have spewed 52 tons of chemicals into our air. But we won! Even though everyone said it was impossible - we won! The County had approved their permit (with a negative declaration and fast track) and AQMD gave the an air permit. All the community was asking was that they follow the rules like everyone else - use pollution control devices that are readily available. Instead, the company refused. In the end, the company turned in their permits and walked away from their already-built buildings. Just like our 22 year battle over the Stringfellow Acid Pits, we know we can win this battle. We are committed to ensuring that the county hears and addresses the concerns our families raise. In 2000, CCAEJ filed 5 lawsuits challenging the County's practice of not doing the appropriate studies and not notifying residents. We won! The County agreed to require EIRs (Environmental Impact Reports) on the warehouse proposals. But on Jan. 17, 2001 the Planning Commission approved another warehouse in Mira Loma without the promised EIR. As of July, 2002, construction has begun on two new warehouses. What should be taking place is an open, public process whereby all residents of the area are notified of a proposal, given sufficient time and opportunity to raise concerns, conduct a study to look at the concerns raised, and either develop mitigation measures that satisfy the concerns or deny the project. Instead, staff is urged to process permits quickly, so they sit down and check off boxes on a form, give cursory - if any - public notification, hold a short hearing and the appplicaton is approved. HOME has formed several committees - research committee, legal committee (we have a law firm limed up), phone tree committee, and has even divided the Mira Loma area into sections with block leaders for each. We welcome your involvement. The group contnues to meet on the issues of air quality and development. Call us for the date and time of the next meeting. 360-8451. USC Lung Function Study Mira Loma children have the weakest lung capacity of all study participants due to particulate pollution. Recent findings from an ongoing 10-year study by USC's medical school find that particulate air pollution is stealing lung function, breath by breath from Mira Loma Children. Mira Loma had the highest concentrations of particulate pollution - soot, dust, chemical compunds and other materials - of all the communities in the study. Children here had the slowest rate of lung function growth due to particulate polution. Mira Loma children live in air that has among the nations's worst particulate smog. Researchers tested the children annually for four years, measuring how hard and how much the children could blow into a device called a spirometer. Air-quality officials said Mira Loma's dairy farms get part of the blame for the particulate pollution. The problem: Nitrogen oxides from automobile exhausts react with ammonia rising from cattle waste to create nitrates, a form of particle smog. That mixes with dust from the farms to form a stew that also includes soot from diesel engines, sea salt, grease and other particles. The slower lung growth was obseved in both healthy and asthmatic children. Reducing levels of particles would improve the health of children by allowing them to develop stronger lungs. The stronger a person's lungs, the better chance he or she has to stave offf or fight diseases such as emphysema, bronchitis and pneumonia, especially in later adulthood. This existing health crisis makes it unconscionable to site mega-warehouses that draw hundreds, if not thousands of trucks a day to the area. The big-rig trucks add deadly diesel exhaust to the air these children must breath, compounding their health provblems. Although everyone recognizes the problem with diesel and the situation with our children, the warehouse proposals are not even being reviewed by air officials. Who Benefits from Industrial Development? Sometimes it is very difficult to get the information the public needs to understand - let alone combat - the plans others have for our area. All the plans, processes, financial deals and decisions are made out of the public view - behind closed doors with those that benefit. The public only gets glimpses of the actual process. Here is our best analysis of what is happening. It's easy to see the benefits of selling land for the mega-warehouses for developers and land owners. The developers see an opportunity for large tracts of "cheap" land, and the land owners see an opportunity to sell the large parcels at one fell swoop for one large price. What becomes more puzzling is why the County goes along with this radical change in community lifestyle and incompatible land use. Why allow the siting of facilities that draw thousands of diesel-spewing trucks into THE most impacted population (USC study)? Why put industrial warehouses across the street from residential half-acre lots known for thier animal-oriented lifestyle? Why site a grout manufacturing company next to a library? Or a lumber mill next to a child care center? Or bring more trucks into an already trafffic-congested corner near the High School? None of this makes sense for a regulatory agency - Unless they also receive benefits. Redevelopment In 1955, The Board of Supervisors consolidated all the redevelopment project areas in Jurupa, merging them into one large redevelopment area, adding 11,828 acres into the area, increasing the total amount of bonded indebtedness the Agency may have outstanding at any one time, and amending eminent domain authority to extend it to use on owner-occupied residences. This created a funding mechanism for the many projects we've seen in the area over the last few years. They include:
Yes, we agree. All of these facilities and projects are nice additions to the community, but is is important to understand how they fit into the bigger picture of the area; how they force the industrialization of parts of the community; who the public is subsidizing; how decisions are made. In other words, who get the benefits, who takes the risks. To amass the necessary funds for thses projects, the county must increase the property taxes received above those of a designated year - 1986. Any increase in the property value will go into the redevelopment fund for use in the redevelopment area, instead of going into the general fund to pay for basic services countywide. This "tax increment" is the key to the entire program and provides the Supervisor with a pot of money to spend in his District. Jurupa Community Plan Another key point in the development scheme is looking at the five communities - Mira Loma, Glen Avon, Sunnyslope, Rubidoux, Pedley as one large Jurupa Valley, instead of individual communities. A basic premise in planning communities, is to have a balance between residential, commecial, industrial, reacreation, etc. If each commuinity is viewed as its own, each would need a balance between the various land uses. By combining the entire area into one large community - Jurupa Valley - you can balance uses in ways that make one area take the brunt of the industrial facilities while others get the benefits of that industrual development - increased services. For example, if Mira Loma brings in mega-warehouses, Indian Hills can have the Spectrum, new businesses, landscaping, nice residential area, etc. Balances can be done over a larger area making some area sacrifice zones fo the benefit of the others. That seems to be what is happening in Jurupa. Who benefits from warehouses? The dairy land and warehouses are the perfect projects for this funding scheme. You take Agricultural Preserve land (open flat land) and put up huge buildings (one million square feet) and the property value goes through the roof. It is estimated that each warehouse brings in around $800,000 in new, increased property tax for use by the county for these special projects. That's a lot of money. Since the County gets such a big tax increment from these deals, they encourage this type of development. We were told by one developer that even though they don't want or need a building, they were instructed by the County that with the land in an economic development area (redevelopment area) they had to put up a "ratable" (building). Although they were clear that weren't told it had to be a warehouse, that is all the market is interested in at this time. So if a "ratable" is required - it will be a warehouse. We also understand that the County has calculated the tax increment for each parcel of land and is basing their bond indebtedness (current and future) on that amount. So they are counting on all that land being developed into industrial uses in order to fund all the new projects and pay back the old ones. This creates a real conflict for the County. While on one hand, they are the authorizing agency, charged with ensuring that the health and safety of the county's residents are potected - on the other, they also stand to financially benefit from the projects going through. So by sacrificing one area, the can provide needed services to another. If a judge had a financial interest in a case he was overseeing, he would be required to withdraw from the case. If a legislator had a possible financial gain from a decision before him, he would have to abstain. But the County participates even though they have a financial interest in the outcome. It wouldn't be so bad if the process were open and all the review possible was taking place - but they're not. Fast Tracking, limited notification of projects, declaring negative impacts when they clearly exist, not doing the EIRs when the projects have clear substantial impacts upon the community - make the deals even more questionable.
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