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The Moreno Valley City Council Wednesday approved the World Logistics Center, ending three years of sometimes bitter debate within the city on a project that likely will transform not only Moreno Valley but the entire Inland Empire.
The 3-2 vote concluded a 16-hour public hearing that was held over three days in the city’s Conference & Recreation Center, which was used to accommodate the large crowd.
The decision was greeted with loud cheers and cries of joy from the project’s supporters, who see the mega-development as critical to Moreno Valley’s economic future. Some chanted “Iddo, Iddo,” in support of the project’s developer, Iddo Benzeevi.
“This is a great day for Moreno Valley,” Benzeevi said while being surrounded by jubilant supporters immediately after the vote. “I look forward on working with the city to get this project built.”
Both sides debated back and forth, often contentiously, on whether the project’s estimated 20,000 new jobs would be worth the extra traffic, noise and pollution the development might create.
Ultimately, a majority of the council sided with the job-creation argument, although not without expressing reservations about the project’s potential environmental fallout, particularly regarding extra traffic.
“There’s been a lot of passion on both sides of this issue,” said Councilman Yxstian Gutierrez, who joined Mayor Jesse L. Molina and Councilman George E. Price in voting in favor of the project. “We’ve heard a lot of talk about traffic, noise, pollution and health issues, but our own environmental reports say those issues have been mitigated. We also have a 6-1 approval vote from our planning commission.”
Yxstian also noted that Moreno Valley is facing a $3 million budget deficit within the next few years.
“I think we need to take that into consideration,” Yxstian said.
Benzeevi has repeatedly emphasized the 20,000 jobs the World Logistics Center will create during course of its 20- to 30-year buildout, one council member expressed some skepticism regarding that estimate.
“I am very concerned that, regarding job creation, we are putting all of our eggs into one basket,” Councilman George Price said. “He [Benzeevi] says he’s going to create 20,000 jobs, but I just hope those will be jobs that pay a livable wage.
Price and Councilwoman and D. LaDonna Jempson cast the dissenting votes.
At buildout, World Logistic Center will be the largest industrial project in the Inland Empire and one of the largest in the United States. It will cover 40.6 million square feet, about the size of 700 football fields, on the city’s east side.
One opponent of the development said he was not surprised by the vote.
“Not at all,” said Tom Thornsley, a Moreno Valley resident. “It’s exactly the vote we expected.”
