The March Joint Powers Commission voted on Monday night to deny a proposed warehouse project for Riverside’s Orangecrest and Mission Grove neighborhoods after hours of public comment and discussion.
In a rare victory for environmental groups, the commission – composed of elected officials from Riverside County and the cities of Riverside, Perris and Moreno Valley – decided to oppose Meridian Group LLC’s plans to build a 817-acre mixed-use industrial and commercial park on former March Air Force Base land.
Riverside County Supervisor Jose Medina, who spearheaded the board’s decision to strike down the project, shared that many of the same concerns around job quality, air pollution and health echoed those raised when the proposal was first tabled by the commission last June.
“What I’ve heard today was not much different from what I heard a year ago,” said Medina.
Last June, the commission voted to table the proposed West Campus Upper Plateau project from its agenda after pressure from residents and community groups. Eventually, the commission voted to place the project back on their agenda.
Rebranded as the March Innovation Hub, the project proposal promised 3,100 jobs through the creation of a business and technology campus on 347 acres. The developer also proposed providing 468 acres of open space for conservation projects and the construction of a new firehouse and a 48 to 60-acre community park along Barton Road.
Randall Lewis, owner of the Lewis Group of Companies, argued that the project addressed the region’s “brain drain” by keeping skilled workers in the Inland Empire.
“I think it’s a great use of property that’s uniquely seated here,” said Lewis. “And I think it will influence the other kinds of tenants that will come to the rest of the March development that we hope to do.”
But opponents of the project, which included groups like the Riverside Neighbors Opposing Warehouses (R-NOW) and the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ) argued that the project was “propaganda” that intended to fool the public.
“It doesn't matter what they say verbally,” said Jennifer Larratt-Smith, a co-founder of R-NOW. “You are voting to certify what is in writing, and the developer is seeking industrial zoning for the West Campus Upper Plateau. These are the same old warehouses they presented you last June, and you must reject them.”
Medina agreed with Larratt-Smith.
“I agree with the speaker who said that we cannot approve something that is not in writing, something that is only a promise,” said Medina. “I am sorry, but in 50 years and what I have seen makes me skeptical.”
Some commission members deliberated on how to move the project forward, while still addressing concerns around warehousing. Riverside Councilman Chuck Conder, who reluctantly voted to deny the project, expressed frustration.
“If we put a covenant that they can't build warehouses, will you accept that? If the answer is no, what do you want? We can't read your mind.”
Bryan Goodman, a representative with Meridian Park and the Lewis Group of Companies, said the developers were willing to move forward with a condition prohibiting warehouse uses. Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez motioned to approve the project without warehouse uses, but the board rejected the motion.
After the meeting, Larratt-Smith told The Frontline Observer that the community made its stance clear. “We put it all out on the table. You couldn’t have asked for more from our community,” she said.
The Frontline Observer's Christopher Salazar contributed to this reporting.
