Temecula, Calif. (September 30, 2024) - On September 29, 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 98: Planning and zoning: logistics use; truck routes. AB 98 (Juan Carrillo and Reyes) responds to the recent expansion of warehouse uses throughout California by imposing state-wide building design and location regulations on new or expanded “logistics use” developments, including standards for parking, truck loading bays, landscaping buffers, entry gates, and signage, and requiring local agencies to update the circulation elements of their general plans.
There are four basic requirements for new and expanded logistics uses (meaning the expansion of an existing logistics use by twenty percent (20%) or more of the existing square footage, excluding office space):
a. Location requirements.
Beginning January 1, 2026, any new logistics use is required to be located on arterial roads, collector roads, major thoroughfares, or local roads that predominantly serve commercial uses. A city or county could waive the location requirements for logistics buildings in industrial zones where location on such roadways is impractical due to unique geographic, economic, or infrastructure reasons.
b. Design standards for new and expanded logistics uses.
Beginning on January 1, 2026, new or expanded logistics uses must meet specified design standards based on the building's:
- size (“21st Century Warehouse (Base) Standards” for logistics uses less than 250,000 square feet, and “Tier 1 21st Century Warehouse Standards” for warehouses of at least 250,000 square feet);
- location (whether loading bays are within 900 feet of a “sensitive receptor”, and whether the building is in the “warehouse concentration region”); and
- zoning (industrial vs. nonindustrial). Non-industrial sites for which an industrial rezoning application was filed by September 30, 2024 and later approved, are considered industrial.
A more detailed summary of the complicated design standards is available upon request.
c. Truck routing plan.
Before the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for a logistics use, the facility operator will be required to submit for city or county approval a truck routing plan to and from the state highway system. Among other things the routing plan would avoid passing sensitive receptors to the maximum extent possible, and include measures to prevent truck queuing or stopping on public streets.
d. Housing replacement.
If a logistics project involves demolishing housing units that were occupied within the last 10 years, AB 98 would require the city or county to condition approval of the project on (i) replacing each demolished unit with two low- or moderate-income units within the jurisdiction, and (ii) providing any displaced tenant with 12 months' rent.
AB 98 prohibits cities and counties from approving a new or expanded logistics use project that does not meet the statewide standards. However, the bill specifically exempts from compliance with these new regulations (1) logistics use projects approved before the bill's effective date, and (2) any logistics use projects that were subject to a commenced local entitlement process before September 30, 2024.
The new law also tasks cities and counties with updating the circulation elements of their general plans and imposes monitoring requirements on the South Coast Air Quality Management District (“SCAQMD”). Cities and counties must update their circulation elements by January 1, 2028, and by January 1, 2026 for those located in the Warehouse Concentration Region.
The update shall establish specific travel routes for the transport of goods, materials, or freight for storage, transfer, or redistribution to safely accommodate additional truck traffic and avoid residential areas and sensitive receptors, and maximize the use of interstate or state divided highways as preferred routes for truck routes. After January 1, 2028, all proposed development of a logistics use shall be accessible by arterial roads, major thoroughfares, or roads that predominantly serve commercially oriented uses. SCAQMD is obligated to, among other things, measure air pollution from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2032 in areas near operational logistics uses, and evaluate the impact of air pollution on sensitive receptors from those operations. SCAQMD must submit findings to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2033 (January 1, 2028 for Riverside and San Bernardino Counties).
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
