Orange residents are raising questions over a proposal to develop a bay trucking facility across the street from homes, questioning why a project with the potential to have dozens of trucks going in and out every day is going next to a residential neighborhood.
“When we bought our home, we thought this was forever. We hoped that this would be a home that we could pass on to our children and just continue on,” said Christina Martinez, an Orange resident living near the proposed site, in a phone call with the Voice of OC.
“But it’s something that we do need to really think about if there’s going to be trucks right behind our bedrooms going every day, all day long.”
Now, many of them are calling for their city council members and planning commissioners to intervene and force a more in depth study of the project’s impacts, with one council member already questioning why the project slipped in under the radar.
“I have a lot of questions for city staff about why that (the environmental impact review) wasn’t required, because my understanding is that they have some discretion to ask for that,” said Orange Councilwoman Arianna Barrios on a phone call with the Voice of OC.
The city’s planning commission is set to talk about the project on Nov. 16, after several delays that pushed a review to after the November election.
What is the 2411 Glassell St. Project?
Early this year, residents living less than 100 feet from 2411 Glassell St. got a message in the mail about a new project at the office complex across the street.
Currently, three two-story office buildings stand on the lot, which serve as a buffer between homes along Fletcher Avenue and industrial sites along Glassell Street.
The site is owned by Rexford Industrial, who are looking to overhaul the property, adding a trucking bay that would run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Rexford Industrial – whose headquarters are in LA and have OC offices in Costa Mesa – did not respond to requests for comment from Voice of OC.
The facility is planned to be 45 feet tall and take up nearly 300,000 square feet, but there are two potential options for the layout of the warehouse.
A major difference between the site options comes in loading bay numbers – option one plans for five, option two plans for 36.
If okayed, construction will be 10 hours daily, six days a week over a year and a half, after approval by the planning commission and city council, according to the report.
Lacking Health Impact Studies Spark Concern
When the project was developed, the city submitted what’s known as a Mitigated Negative Declaration.
This means that city staff studied the impacts of the potential project on the community, including the environment, services like police and fire, health and wildlife, and determined that there are measures that can be taken that would mitigate any negative impacts.
All of the studies were based on smaller estimates of the project, which only contained five truck bays and an estimated 843 daily trips. This plan is referred to just as “the project” in the report.
However, the impacts of the larger version – which has seven times the amount of bays – were not directly studied.
The impact report states that “any differences in potential environmental impacts between the Option 1 and Option 2 are identified…” but did not make any direct references to the project’s larger proposal.
While most of the reports conducted using Option 1 detail list no to little impact, the report notes the health impact from diesel particles coming from vehicles and construction equipment during construction and operation scored just over the danger threshold, forcing construction crews to use lower emission machinery.
However, this only accounts for a facility with five trucking bays – not the potential 36. A higher number of diesel trucks emitting fumes in their area would increase the score, though this is not calculated in the report.
“The City has received comments from residents and regulatory agencies, including the South Coast Air Quality Management District, and is currently reviewing those comments and the applicant’s responses,” wrote City of Orange Public Affairs and Information Manager Charlene Cheng in an email to the Voice of OC.
“This process includes additional technical evaluation to ensure that the environmental analysis adequately addresses the issues raised.”
If the score was above the impact threshold after mitigation efforts had been applied, then what is known as an Environmental Impact Report, would be required. This report is required when risks cannot be mitigated.
Because the limit was narrowly avoided with just five bays, residents are now concerned about what that number might look like if the 36 bay facility were fully studied.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, prolonged exposure to diesel fumes can lead to asthma, and worsening lung and heart conditions.
“Anyone who might have other health concerns, other health conditions, other vulnerabilities whereby this exposure could exacerbate their risk for other health issues,” said Karen Lincoln, environmental and occupational health professor at UC Irvine.
“I think it’s really important to consider, in addition to the cancer risks, there are a number of other health risks that are associated with diesel emissions, and so those are the kinds of things I would certainly be concerned about.”
Residents Demand Answers on Impacts
Residents are now calling for the complete environmental review to be completed, and other reviews to be updated, noting negative health impacts and increased noise at homes and the nearby Fletcher Academy if the 36 bay-proposal goes through.
“At a minimum, the City should require a full Environmental Impact Report instead of the Mitigated Negative Declaration it has now,” wrote Kevin Neu, the owner of a home near the project site, in an email to the Voice of OC.
It’s up to either the city planning commission or city council to call for a full environmental impact report, with planning commissioners now set to discuss the project on Nov. 16 after several delays.
In interviews with Voice of OC, Councilmember Arianna Barrios and some community members brought up concern that, not only would pollution likely be higher than reported, but that houses in this area are older, meaning that dust and fumes are more likely to get into homes through poorly sealed doors and floor boards.
“Those homes aren’t particularly new, the homes are like circa 1960, so you know, are you going to put double-pane windows on everybody’s homes? I mean there’s a lot of questions to be asked and how much could you actually mitigate,” Barrios said.
Due to their age, noise is more likely to reverb through homes, as insulation wasn’t as common, allowing for sound waves to rattle through the older houses, some residents mentioned.
“Our homes were built in 1963, decades before modern insulation standards, so outside noise and air come in,” wrote Neu.
Timeline and Next Steps
After the notices went out, Rexford held an open house on May 19 where residents were urged to write their questions and concerns on note cards, and were promised responses, but residents that spoke to the Voice of OC stated that they never received answers.
Rexford has not responded to Voice of OC’s request for comment.
On Oct. 18, Mayor Dan Slater also hosted a town hall type meeting at the site of the project, to speak to residents about their concerns.
Though residents were first notified of the project early this year, after several planning commission meeting cancellations, the item won’t be heard until Nov. 16, pushing the potential council decision to well after elections.
According to Barrios, because of the delays in hearing the project, it likely wouldn’t reach council until early next year, especially if an extended environmental review or additional permits are needed.
In the meantime, residents have been turning out at city council meetings to speak on the issue during public comment, with speakers ranging from long-time residents of Orange to young families with students who attend the Fletcher Academy.
Liam, a student who has been speaking out at city council meetings alongside his mother, has been bringing awareness to the issue at school by teaching his peers and teachers about this project.
“We wouldn’t be able to walk to school like we usually do. I know this trucking warehouse is going to affect the environment, but forcing us to drive to school is going to be like three times worse,” Liam said in an interview with the Voice of OC.
In September, the Orange Unified School District Superintendent Rachel Monárrez wrote a letter to city officials asking for a complete environmental review to be conducted, stating that “…documented emissions, exposure, and mitigation issues described below to support a fair argument of potentially significant effects requiring an EIR.”
A website established by “Neighbors of 2411” serves as a central hub for community members to learn more about the project, breaking the plans into layman’s terms, and hosting a petition, newsletter and donations.
“We’re not against progress; we’re asking the City to take a hard look at the noise, diesel truck traffic, and air quality impacts this project would bring to our families before it’s approved,” the website reads.
On top of potential health complications, residents have concerns about the feel of their community, with many parents and children living nearby and walking past the facility to Fletcher Academy.
For many residents, the decision made on the project could impact their willingness to stay in the city, with some stating that its approval could push them out of their “forever homes.”
“To look outside my kitchen window, my child’s bedroom, to see this behemoth structure right next to us will change the look and feel of our neighborhood forever,” said Rachel Rolnicki, a new parent living less than 100 feet from the proposed project.
Some residents have been in the neighborhood for much longer, and are concerned that, even if they wanted to leave, they couldn’t afford to go elsewhere.
“My property taxes are based on my purchase price from 28 years ago. I don’t know if I would be able to (leave) even if I sold my home and bought a home of exactly the same value,” said Dan Wayland in a phone call with the Voice of OC.
While residents are up in arms now, Wayland also raised concerns that the longer the project gets pushed off, the harder it will be to keep up momentum, but some remain committed.
“The longer things drag on, the more people get tired,” Wayland said. “I’m trying to stay hopeful right now and not think about the dark possibilities, try to affect reasonable change.”
With the Nov. 16 planning commission currently still on the books, Lincoln says that while elected officials make the calls, residents shouldn’t disregard their community’s want for change.
“As a resident, as a community member, as an advocate you have power,” Lincoln said.
“There’s different types of power that will allow you to impact the decisions that are being made, but you have to recognize that you have it.”
