IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District plans to file a lawsuit in connection with the World Logistics Center, the mega-industrial project planned for Moreno Valley.
The suit, which was expected to be filed today in Riverside County Superior Court, will allege that the city failed to adapt adequate air quality protections befor it approved the project last month, said Sam Atwood, district spokesman.
“We’re up against a deadline,” Atwood said this afternoon. “We fully expect to have it filed by today.”
Earlier this week, Riverside County and the Riverside County Transportation Commission both filed similar lawsuits against the warehouse-distribution project, which at buildout would cover 40.6 million square feet – about 700 football fields – on the city’s east end.
The project, which has been approved by the city council and planning commission, aroused strong support and opposition from community members, with backers stressing the project’s potential to create jobs and its detractors arguing that it will add to traffic, noise and pollution in the city.
The district is not trying to block the project, it’s only trying to make sure that all air quality and other environmental issues associated with it are addressed, according to Atwood.
“There’s nothing in this that asks for an injunction or in any way tries to keep the project from being built,’ Atwood said. “The environmental impact report is inadequate. It does not address the air quality needs sufficiently, and it needs to be brought into compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act.”
Iddo Benzeevi, owner of Highland Fairview in Moreno Valley, the project’s developer, was not available for comment.
While the three agencies were preparing for possible court battles regarding the World Logistics Center, a citizens group that supports the development is gathering signatures for a possible ballot initiative.
If passed, the measure could protect the project from lawsuits, said Andrea DeLeon, spokeswoman for Highland Fairview.
Benzeevi supports that effort, DeLeon said, but she declined to comment on his possible involvement in it. It was also not clear when it would appear on the local ballot.
