Article Author:
Reuters
Avi Asher-Schapiro, Thomson Reuters Foundation
* E-commerce boosts warehouse construction boom near Los Angeles
* Truck traffic, open land Loss of Anger in Locals
* Industry patrons cite job creation and economic benefits
Avi Asher - Schapiro
Los Angeles, August 8th (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Standing at the gates of his farm In the Inland Empire (a sprawling series of communities east of Los Angeles, California), Randy Beckerarge goes down the street to a towering construction site above an old cow barn pointing to
It will soon be his Amazon warehouse of approximately 4.1 million square feet (380,000 square meters). This five-story structure is billed by logistics experts to be the world's largest facility for the e-commerce giant.
Business groups, some local unions, and government officials say such sites bring jobs and economic development. Others, like Beckerage, oppose expanding networks of warehouses that cover former farmland and bring traffic and air pollution.
"I don't know how to stop the steamrollers," said Beckerage. He is campaigning against new warehouses and would like to see climate-friendly food production networks instead.
"This is prime farmland. We can't just pave it. We have a moral responsibility to preserve it."
Amazon did not respond to a request for comment. rice field. In a 2021 report, the company said he created 40,000 jobs in the region.
An estimated 40% of all consumer goods in the United States pass through this region, arriving at ports near Long Beach and Los Angeles, where they are transported by truck and train to warehouses and from there to the rest of the country. will be shipped.
The surge in e-commerce is fueling a warehousing boom. Amazon had no warehouses in the Inland Empire in 2012, but now operates dozens of facilities in the area, according to data compiled by the nonprofit Consumer Reports.
Other companies with major e-commerce divisions such as Walmart, Target and Costco also have logistics operations in the region.
"Unbalanced"
San Bernardino's Inland He has over 4,000 warehouses in his Empire and Riverside counties, environmental researchers have discovered.
Pitzer, Susan Phillips, professor of environmental analysis at his college, and environmental data compiled by his consultant Radical Research, said he drove more than one million vehicles per day through Southern California. It contributes to the operation of large trucks.
San Bernardino and Riverside are ranked as the two most polluted counties in the nation for ozone pollution by the American Lung Association, and many residents say they have no more trucks. allowing traffic would have disastrous consequences.
"I live in a house that shakes from the impact of a truck, putting my own health at risk," said Nora, a member of the Pomona City Council who is proposing a moratorium on warehouses. Garcia said. construction in the city.
A new giant Amazon warehouse under construction near Beckerelage's home in Ontario, San Bernardino County, will handle 3,520 truckloads daily, according to documents filed as part of the development's environmental study. will generate travel.
Disputes over warehouse expansion have erupted across the region, according to activists.
"Members of the community are contacting us almost daily, concerned about the new warehouse project," said an executive at the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ). Director Ana Gonzalez said. , a group opposed to the new warehouse.
"Our community is out of balance," she said.
Those in favor of developing this sector in the Inland Empire say it can be used for the public good.
"We have to find a way to coexist," said Paul Granillo, chief executive of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership, a business organization of which many logistics companies are members. said.
He said communities can change zoning rules as needed. The surge in warehouse projects also shows strong local support, especially from local trade unions who welcome additional construction work.
As operators, we strive to be good neighbors and good stewards," said BJ Patterson, CEO of Pacific Mountain Logistics, which operates warehouses in San Bernardino.
But he added that it was right for communities to be wary of developments too close to homes and schools. You're tracking warehouse proposals across the Empire's nine cities, trying to delay those proposals, force changes to make them more acceptable to your neighbors, and limit their environmental impact.
Despite more than a dozen attempts, they have never succeeded in stopping warehouse development, but have tried to encourage some developments that employ mitigation efforts such as afforestation.
A July meeting in Bloomington, San Bernardino, intervened in a recently announced deal to sell an elementary school site if the county greenlit a warehouse expansion plan. Residents begged the authorities to do so.
The school was already surrounded by warehouses, and the local school board predicted that in 30 years the air would be so toxic that children could not breathe.
The proposed sale plan would move the school a few blocks away and pay a net $45 million to upgrade the facilities.
San Bernardino County Planning Commissioner Kareem Gongola said cities in the county have dozens of warehouse projects in the development pipeline.
"It's nearly impossible to push back," he said.
Plans to electrify truck fleets and modernize infrastructure in the region could mitigate the impact, he said.
"But it is the people left behind who will be most affected."
Bans Under Consideration
More than six cities in the region have recently We are considering some form of moratorium on warehousing.
Julpa Valley, an Inland Empire city with 139 warehouses, has proposed an ordinance banning new truck-intensive developments in most areas.
For large warehouses, ensure 305 meters (1,000 feet) of buffer between places particularly exposed to air pollution hazards, such as homes, schools, day care centers, playgrounds and health centers. Laws to force people to do so stalled in July. California State Legislature.
According to his 2021 report by environmental group Earthjustice, 640 schools https://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/files/warehouse_research_report_4.15.2021.pdf in California's greater Southern Basin region are within half a mile of the warehouse. understood.
Aquanetta Warren, mayor of Fontana and a warehouse advocate, said the moratorium was a mistake.
"You can live, play and work in Fontana," she said in a city-commissioned report showing that the city's air quality is improving.https://www.fontana.org/DocumentCenter/View/36204/Fontana-Regional-AQ-Trends_09162021?bidId=。
"Nothing can keep environmentalists away from the fact that people need to work and they need products."
For Beckerage, paving farmland for warehouses means missing an opportunity to improve the health of its residents and build a greener infrastructure.
He hopes his city will consider a recently proposed plan to create a dedicated farming area as a buffer against warehouse expansion.
"If they devour this fine farmland, we will miss a great opportunity," he said.