The Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved a large warehouse project in Mead Valley near Perris on Tuesday. The project has been mostly met with support from residents, though some local environmental justice groups criticized the decision and the project’s developer.
The Cajalco Commerce Center, proposed by Hillwood Investment Properties, includes 1 million square feet of warehouse and industrial space along with a 13-acre park. Hillwood also plans to invest nearly $38 million in infrastructure upgrades — including flood control, drainage, and road improvements — around Cajalco Road and Seaton Avenue.
Hillwood representative Scott Morse said the company has been working with county staff and Mead Valley residents for several years. He added that the project will include a sports park, with a special funding mechanism called a Community Facilities District to cover maintenance and operations long-term, so the county won’t have to pay for it.
“We heard loud and clear from both the residents and elected officials that they would like recreational facilities,” Morse said. “However, the county does not have the ongoing revenue source to pay for the neighborhood park.”
Supporters, including carpenter’s unions and residents, say the development will bring new jobs and amenities to the community. Mead Valley resident Freddy Chavez told supervisors the area lacks basic services and sees the project as a chance to change that.
“We can have markets. We can have more businesses, like other places,” Chavez said. “We don’t have nothing in Mead Valley.”
Supervisor Jose Medina, who represents the Mead Valley area, said the project’s benefits outweigh the costs. He said that could be important, since many county residents are struggling to pay bills and want amenities closer to home.
“Warehouses…are not panaceas. They will not solve all the issues of Mead Valley,” said Medina. “But I think in this case, the positive does outweigh the negative...This project will give jobs to local people, and with a community workforce agreement that money can stay here and the workers who put up and do the project will be from this area.”
Still, environmental justice advocates argue the county continues to approve warehouse projects without fully addressing the cumulative impacts of diesel truck traffic and poor air quality. They say residents in unincorporated areas like Mead Valley already face high levels of pollution from existing logistics centers.
Victoria Camarena of the Mead Valley Coalition for Clean Air said the project falls short. “Even with last-minute additions to the conditions of approval, this project does not provide enough for the community," she said. "Residents voiced frustrations at the recent town hall over rezonings of rural land for more warehouses, and Supervisor Medina can attest to that. The developer has consistently omitted information about the warehouse component during their so-called community outreach.”
Michael McCarthy, founder of Radical Research LLC and a member of Riverside Neighbors Opposing Warehousing (R-NOW), told supervisors the project threatens residents and existing homes in Mead Valley.
“The project does not analyze the cumulative impacts of rezoning 1,100 acres of nearby residential land to industrial,” said McCarthy “This project alone displaces 100 residents and demolishes 26 homes, which worsens the affordable housing and homelessness crisis in California.”
McCarthy also noted that future rezones in Mead Valley could displace even more residents, saying, “Speculative warehouses are being prioritized over existing homes, and this sets a dangerous precedent for the rest of the state.”
McCarthy says by approving the project, the Board is conflicting with county policies on anti-displacement and fair housing.
Meanwhile, Tony Torres, a spokesperson with Hillwood, said the company will continue working with labor unions and local groups to serve community needs and rejected claims from the coalition.
“We’ve worked hard to meet people at their doorsteps, walking them through a detailed presentation that clearly shows this is a multi-part project with both an industrial warehouse and a 15-acre park,” Torres said. “This is the fourth public meeting on the project, each with significant attendance and supporters speaking in favor, so there have been no attempts to defraud the public.”
