A coalition of residents in Yucaipa have filed two petitions challenging the city council’s decision to rezone land along the I-10 corridor for warehousing and commercial development. The council can either decide to rescind their decision or hold a citywide election.
The referendum petitions aim to overturn Yucaipa’s approval of the Freeway Corridor Specific Plan, which includes retail, commercial, and housing development, as well as the Pacific Oaks Commerce Center, a 2 million-square-foot warehouse project.
A referendum allows residents to challenge a city council decision by collecting enough signatures to place the issue on the ballot for voters to decide.
The resident-led coalition, known as the Yucaipa Neighbors Opposing Warehousing, filed two petitions because the council took two separate actions on the item. Yucaipa NOW member Ro Randolph, who lives north of the I-10 on the other side of the project site, says they managed to get more than 10,000 for both in just 45 days.
“We were going to stores,” said Randolph. “We’d have like 10 people lined up. ‘I want to sign, I want to sign, I want to sign.’ I get it because this is their voice.”
Yucaipa City Clerk Ana Sauseda said in an email that the city has accepted one of the referendum petitions and is waiting for the Registrar of Voters to confirm the other.
Under state law, once a referendum petition qualifies, the council must either repeal the approved plan or place the issue before voters. If the council does not repeal it, the measure would appear on the ballot at the next regular election or sooner, if the council decides to call a special election. The project cannot move forward unless voters approve it.
Randolph, who works as a truck driver, says many residents oppose the project because they want to preserve the area’s open landscape and worry about increased truck traffic. She says she hopes the council listens to the will of residents.
“I understand logistics pretty well, and I know what trucks do on the roads, and I know what truck fumes do,” Randolph said. “I think you need to let [the referendums] go to the ballot, let people vote on it, because there's so much anger and disappointment and so much lack of trust.”
The city stated on its website about the Freeway Corridor Specific Plan that updating the plan — originally adopted in 2008 — allows for warehouse and commercial development.
City officials say the revised plan “recognizes” that warehouses can still be built, but in a more efficient way by locating them below the I-10, where planned road improvements could better manage traffic.
“This approach reduces infrastructure costs and keeps prime locations open for shops and services that residents want, ultimately making retail developments easier.”
The city council is expected to decide next Monday whether to rescind its approval or call an election. The meeting is set to start at 6 p.m.
