Tag Archives: distribution center

Harbor Gateway Community Still Fighting Massive Distribution Center

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Would you want these diesel trucks driving through your neighborhood?

How would you like to have hundreds of diesel trucks driving up and down your street, spewing diesel exhaust, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Residents living on Redondo Beach Boulevard in the Harbor Gateway area have been trying for years to stop a massive distribution center from being built right across the street from their homes, but it seems that no one at LA City Hall is listening.

Back in 2018 I posted about the LA City Planning Commission’s approval of this toxic project directly across the street from residents’ homes in the Harbor Gateway community. Developer Prologis had filed an application to build a 300,000+ sq.ft. warehouse which would generate hundreds of diesel truck trips every day, and would operate all night long. The LA Department of City Planning had allowed Prologis to slide by with low-level environmental review that didn’t begin to address the impacts. Thankfully the State’s then-Attorney General, Xavier Becerra, stepped in to let the City know that they weren’t doing enough to protect the residents’ health. The people who had been fighting the project were overjoyed, but it turns out the reprieve was only temporary.

Apartments right across the street from the proposed distribution center.

The Prologis distribution center is back, and will be heard again by the City Planning Commission on Thursday, May 8. Given the CPC’s record of approving pretty much everything that comes before them, it’s likely the project will again be given the green light. The folks at LA City Hall do not seem to care that the residents are already subject to vehicle exhaust from the nearby 110 Freeway. Nor do they seem to care that the area ranks in the top 5% for pollution burden and vulnerability according to the California Environmental Protection Agency’s screening tool. And apparently it makes no difference that, in addition to the residential buildings, the project site is surrounded by a public park, an LAUSD school, nursing homes, and two churches. This project will bring the trucks already travelling the freeway right into the neighborhood, and air pollution has been shown to have serious health impacts on children, adults and seniors.


Area residents will be showing up at the CPC meeting to voice their opposition. If you can make it down to City Hall, they’d appreciate your support. The meeting starts at 8:30 am, but it’s hard to say exactly what time the item will be taken up by the Commissioners.

If you can’t make it down, you can also submit comments to the following e-mail address.

cpc@lacity.org

Be sure to identify the project in the subject line.

Prologis Vermont Redondo Project, CPC-2017-1014-CU-ZAA-SPR

Why Would You Build a 56,000 Sq. Ft. Distribution Center within 300 Feet of an Elementary School?

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3505 Pasadena Ave.

Residents of Lincoln Heights are up in arms over the plan to build a 56,700 square foot e-commerce distribution center at the intersection of Pasadena Ave. and Avenue 35.  Not only is the project in close proximity to houses and apartments, it’s less than 300 feet away from Hillside Elementary.  The community is understandably upset about the potential for a huge increase in truck traffic and diesel emissions.

Hillside Elementary School

At this point, though, the community is uncertain how to stop it.  Xebec, the real estate firm behind the distribution center, believes that the project complies with existing zoning and doesn’t need discretionary approvals from LA City Planning.  They’ve already applied for permits from LA Building & Safety.  Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who represents Lincoln Heights, has come out against the project, and she’s proposed changes to the plan that governs the area.  Unfortunately, those changes won’t be approved until December, and Xebec wants to have the permits finalized before then. 

I don’t blame the residents for being angry.  It’s not hard to understand why building an e-commerce distribution center near an elementary school is a problem.  There are decades of research showing that diesel exhaust can have long-term impacts on children’s health.  Children living in areas where they’re exposed to diesel exhaust are at higher risk of respiratory problems, including reduced lung capacity.  Seniors also face higher health risks, and actually, so does everyone living in an area where they’re regularly exposed to diesel emissions.

New residential building under construction right next door to 3505 Pasadena

I have to admit, I have trouble understanding the zoning for 3505 Pasadena.  According to ZIMAS, the General Plan Land Use designation for this parcel is Hybrid Industrial.  The Hybrid Industrial designation was created by LA City Planning to allow residential uses in industrial zones.  As a matter of fact, right next door to 3505 Pasadena there’s a massive new residential complex under construction that contains over 460 units.  If the Hybrid Industrial designation was created to spur new housing developments in industrial areas where appropriate, the Xebec project seems to violate the whole intention of this initiative.  And when those new units go on the market, how many prospective tenants are going to sign a lease when they realize they’ll be living next door to an e-commerce distribution center?

General Plan Land Use designation for 3505 Pasadena is Hybrid Industrial

But whatever the zoning is, this project should be stopped.  Just ask yourself if you’d like to have diesel trucks going in and out of a distribution center right across from your home.  Or better yet, ask yourself if you think elementary school kids should be breathing the toxic diesel exhaust from these trucks.

The LA City Council rep for the area is already looking for a way to stop this, but it might help to send a note to some people at the State level.  If you feel like speaking up, here are the e-mail addresses for the two people who represent Lincoln Heights in Sacramento, State Senator Maria Elena Durazo and Assemblymember Miguel Santiago.  I’m also including a staff member at the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Program.

senator.durazo@sen.ca.gov

assemblymember.santiago@assembly.ca.gov

leticia.syslo@calepa.ca.gov

Here’s a suggested subject line.

Kids Shouldn’t Be Breathing Diesel Exhaust: Stop the Distribution Center at 3505 Pasadena

If you see problems with this project, let the folks in Sacramento know.  The people of Lincoln Heights would appreciate it.