Lake Forest residents are voicing concerns about three proposed industrial projects next to a residential neighborhood they claim will cause 24/7 noise, truck traffic and air pollution if approved.
Residents who live in The Meadows neighborhood in Lake Forest have spent the past couple years ringing alarm bells about these proposed projects — separated from some homeowners’ backyards by only a block wall.
The Meadows sits on 126 acres south of Bake Parkway and features over 500 single-family homes, 65 senior affordable apartments and seven public parks. The residential community is fairly new — it was approved by the city council in 2020, and the first wave of residents moved in just a couple years later.
Chao Huang and Harrison Jiang — two homeowners in The Meadows — closed escrow for their homes in 2022, and within the next year, they discovered there were applications for three industrial projects, which could include large warehouses, in their backyards.
“The application for these warehouses was submitted back in June 2021,” Huang said in an interview. “That was before our community was even built.”
Three Warehouse Proposals
The three industrial projects were submitted by two different applicants proposing construction in the same location, which includes demolition of the existing buildings in the office park.
The first project is proposed by IPT Enterprise Business Center, a real estate development company, and would create a 165,000-square-foot concrete building. Uses for this development would include office, manufacturing and warehouse.
Currently, there is a draft environmental impact report available for this project.
The other two projects are proposed by another real estate firm called Western Realco. In total, this project could create three new industrial buildings totalling over 200,000 square feet. Uses for these buildings also include office, manufacturing and warehouse.
The city is also expected to produce an environmental report for these two projects.
Neither applicant responded to requests for comment regarding resident concerns and potential environmental impacts.
All the proposed industrial buildings would include a truck loading area with commercial loading doors.
The city initially tried to push through a simplified review process for the proposals, known as a mitigated negative declaration (MND). But after residents raised concerns about traffic, noise and air pollution, city leaders committed to completing full environmental reports.
“Three large warehouses, a total close to 400,000 square feet,” Jiang said. “They’re massive, right next to our community — less than 100 feet from some of the homes. The MND we feel had so many deficiencies.”
“Homeowners feel like we are so weak in front of the city and major developers,” he said. “We’re vulnerable.”
Before The Meadows residential neighborhood was built, the area used to be an agricultural nursery.
Huang and Jiang said that when this area was changed to a residential use, the nearby areas — which are still zoned for industrial uses — no longer matched.
“Now you have the residential right next to light industrial,” Huang said. “There’s no separation or buffer in between at all. That’s the major issue. It’s a flaw from the past.”
Jiang said the draft environmental impact report for the first project features many flaws, like unmitigated health risks, insufficient cumulative analysis and underreported traffic congestion and noise exposure.
“There are so many problems in the current draft EIR (environmental impact report), I don’t know how the city is going to move forward,” he said. “I would say the draft EIR failed in many aspects. That’s my own conclusion. That’s the reason we want the city to go back, address all the comments and come up with better alternatives.”
He offered alternatives like building warehouses in a different location in the city, further away from residential neighborhoods, or constructing a mixed-use development at the site instead of the industrial projects.
He’s also consulted a lawyer and an air quality expert.
“When they produce the final EIR, that’s the time when we’re going to see how they’re going to address the community’s feedback, including our lawyers and environmental experts,” Jiang said. “If there are still potential issues, the next step is really legal action that we’re considering. We’re doing our best to leverage support from the broader community to make people aware of this.”
Councilmember Benjamin Yu said he’s aware of resident concerns and will take them into account when considering these projects.
“Lake Forest’s planning decisions must balance growth with the well-being of residents — especially in my representative district which was not masterplanned,” Yu wrote in a statement.
“I’ve heard strong concerns from residents about potential impacts to traffic safety, air quality, and neighborhood compatibility. I believe these concerns deserve thorough review in the environmental process and will weigh heavily in my consideration of the project,” he wrote. “I’m committed to ensuring our seniors and families aren’t subjected to excessive noise and traffic.”
None of the other city council members answered emailed questions about the projects.
City spokesman Jonathan Volzke said the city will respond to every comment received for the first project’s draft environmental impact report.
“All of the comments and responses will be included in the final environmental study, which is also a public document,” he wrote in a statement. “That document will be reviewed by the Planning Commission before any decision is made on the proposals.”
The public comment period for the first project’s draft environmental impact report is available until Sept. 15. Then, a final report will be created for the planning commission and city council to review, likely expected in early 2026.
That’s separate from the other two industrial projects, which do not have a draft report available yet.
Lake Forest residents have also created a community group known as We The Meadows to help spread the word about the proposals. Huang and Jiang are on the executive board for the organization.
Additionally, a Change.org petition opposing the warehouse projects has gathered over 1,000 signatures.
“The reason why we think it is really important for us to do whatever we can to stop this project is that we do not want this to become a trend,” Huang said. “Once the first project gets approved, the full application (for the other two warehouses) could easily go through. If they approve this one, there’s less reason to deny the other ones.”
Angelina Hicks is the Voice of OC Collegiate News Service Editor. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.