HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-9-2024 Moruzzi - Editorial Letter to Planning CommissionFrom:Peter Moruzzi
To:Planning
Subject:Editorial Letter to Planning Commission
Date:Saturday, November 9, 2024 10:56:51 AM
Attachments:PC Opinion Piece.pdf
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Please distribute my recent Desert Sun Valley Voice editorial to the Planning Commission.
DESTRUCTIVE IMPACTS OF PROPOSED WAREHOUSES IN PALM SPRINGS
Appalling visual blight now characterizes Inland Empire cities such as Moreno Valley and
Redlands due to the uncontrolled proliferation of massive distribution warehouses. In
Palm Springs, a gigantic fulfillment center along Indian Canyon Drive north of Interstate 10
is nearing approval by the city. At 740,000 square feet and 50 feet in height, it rivals the
largest warehouses in Riverside County. If approved, the building – big enough to contain
12 football fields – will dominate the expansive northeast desert views that motorists first
see when entering the Coachella Valley on I-10.
The Palm Springs general plan identifies I-10 as a scenic view corridor. It states “Views
along these roadways should be preserved and enhanced whenever feasible [and] future
development proposals must respect and protect the scenic values of the desert and
mountain terrain.” The proposed project clearly violates this requirement.
In 2022, the City Council amended the zoning code for the manufacturing zone north of I-
10, justifying the decision with the promise of $20M or more in potential sales tax revenue
for the city. However, because no actual user or applicant was known, the Council was
cautioned that tax revenue could be substantially lower depending on the identity of the
final tenant. Why? Different types of warehouses have major differences in the amount
of tax revenues generated. A typical warehouse that stores products for use at a later
date produces no sales tax, only much lower property tax. In contrast, a company-owned
and operated fulfillment center such as Amazon does collect sales taxes that are passed on
to a city.
But look what happened after Amazon announced a 3.4 million square foot fulfillment
center for Desert Hot Springs in 2022. Just one year later, the Desert Sun reported
“Amazon drastically downsizes Desert Hot Springs warehouse plans, costing city millions.”
The article stated “the planned Amazon warehouse in DHS has been drastically scaled
down in size and will be a temporary storage center for products instead of a fulfillment
center, and that means the city won’t see tens of millions of dollars a year in expected tax
revenue.” Why? “Stated plans were modified due to economic conditions.” A similar
example is the mammoth 1 million square foot Skechers warehouse in Cabazon just south
of I-10 that now features a “for lease” sign. Bottom line, promised tax windfalls are often
just false promises.
Another justification cited in approving fulfillment centers is job creation. But the
overhyped “blue-collar miracle is instead filled with temp jobs rife with health and safety
issues, little job security, and a future in which robotic workers are predicted to reign
supreme,” according to sustainability expert Susan A. Phillips.
Adding insult to injury, two additional gargantuan warehouse projects are proposed north
of I-10 in Palm Springs. The ‘First Industrial 1’ project consists of two buildings, one at
1,516,601 square feet, and the other at 391,077 square feet. The adjacent ‘First Industrial
2’ is planned at 1,089,747 square feet. Including the 740,000 square foot building now in
the approval process, the total will be 3,737,285 square feet! Currently, the biggest
warehouse in in the area is the FedEx Ground facility south of I-10, which at 150,000
square feet is just 4% the size of the four proposed buildings.
Palm Springs takes great pride in its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions. But the proposed 740,000 square foot project is estimated by the developer to
result in 102,000 truck trips annually! Imagine the massive amounts of GHG emissions
that will blow into Palm Springs and other desert areas with impacts on tourism and
quality of life. Instead of reducing GHG emissions in Palm Springs, approving this project
will reverse all the progress made by the city thus far. And for what? Potential sales tax
revenues?
Concludes Susan A. Phillips, “These giant boxes have worsened traffic, air quality, cancer
rates and chronic health problems in the Inland Empire. Environmental impact reports for
these projects universally describe significant and unavoidable environmental detriments,
whether that means greenhouse gas emissions, increases in the urban heat island effect,
habitat destruction, increased traffic or worsening air quality.”
By approving such monstrous buildings, the City of Palm Springs will be complicit in
harming our beautiful desert in addition to jeopardizing our health, tourist economy, and
overall quality of life for uncertain financial gain. Just because other desert cities succumb
to such short term thinking doesn’t mean that we should, too.
Peter Moruzzi
1
Desert Sun Valley Voice Editorial submitted by Peter Moruzzi
DESTRUCTIVE IMPACTS OF PROPOSED WAREHOUSES IN PALM SPRINGS
Appalling visual blight now characterizes Inland Empire cities such as Moreno Valley and
Redlands due to the uncontrolled proliferation of massive distribution warehouses. In Palm
Springs, a gigantic fulfillment center along Indian Canyon Drive north of Interstate 10 is
nearing approval by the city. At 740,000 square feet and 50 feet in height, it rivals the
largest warehouses in Riverside County. If approved, the building – big enough to contain
12 football fields – will dominate the expansive northeast desert views that motorists first
see when entering the Coachella Valley on I-10.
The Palm Springs general plan identifies I-10 as a scenic view corridor. It states “Views
along these roadways should be preserved and enhanced whenever feasible [and] future
development proposals must respect and protect the scenic values of the desert and
mountain terrain.” The proposed project clearly violates this requirement.
In 2022, the City Council amended the zoning code for the manufacturing zone north of I-
10, justifying the decision with the promise of $20M or more in potential sales tax revenue
for the city. However, because no actual user or applicant was known, the Council was
cautioned that tax revenue could be substantially lower depending on the identity of the
final tenant. Why? Different types of warehouses have major differences in the amount of
tax revenues generated. A typical warehouse that stores products for use at a later date
produces no sales tax, only much lower property tax. In contrast, a company-owned and
operated fulfillment center such as Amazon does collect sales taxes that are passed on to a
city.
But look what happened after Amazon announced a 3.4 million square foot fulfillment
center for Desert Hot Springs in 2022. Just one year later, the Desert Sun reported “Amazon
drastically downsizes Desert Hot Springs warehouse plans, costing city millions.” The article
stated “the planned Amazon warehouse in DHS has been drastically scaled down in size and
will be a temporary storage center for products instead of a fulfillment center, and that
means the city won’t see tens of millions of dollars a year in expected tax revenue.” Why?
“Stated plans were modified due to economic conditions.” A similar example is the
mammoth 1 million square foot Skechers warehouse in Cabazon just south of I-10 that now
features a “for lease” sign. Bottom line, promised tax windfalls are often just false
promises.
Another justification cited in approving fulfillment centers is job creation. But the
overhyped “blue-collar miracle is instead filled with temp jobs rife with health and safety
issues, little job security, and a future in which robotic workers are predicted to reign
supreme,” according to sustainability expert Susan A. Phillips.
Adding insult to injury, two additional gargantuan warehouse projects are proposed north
of I-10 in Palm Springs. The ‘First Industrial 1’ project consists of two buildings, one at
1,516,601 square feet, and the other at 391,077 square feet. The adjacent ‘First Industrial
2’ is planned at 1,089,747 square feet. Including the 740,000 square foot building now in
2
the approval process, the total will be 3,737,285 square feet! Currently, the biggest
warehouse in in the area is the FedEx Ground facility south of I-10, which at 150,000 square
feet is just 4% the size of the four proposed buildings.
Palm Springs takes great pride in its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions. But the proposed 740,000 square foot project is estimated by the developer to
result in 102,000 truck trips annually! Imagine the massive amounts of GHG emissions that
will blow into Palm Springs and other desert areas with impacts on tourism and quality of
life. Instead of reducing GHG emissions in Palm Springs, approving this project will reverse
all the progress made by the city thus far. And for what? Potential sales tax revenues?
Concludes Susan A. Phillips, “These giant boxes have worsened traffic, air quality, cancer
rates and chronic health problems in the Inland Empire. Environmental impact reports for
these projects universally describe significant and unavoidable environmental detriments,
whether that means greenhouse gas emissions, increases in the urban heat island effect,
habitat destruction, increased traffic or worsening air quality.”
By approving such monstrous buildings, the City of Palm Springs will be complicit in harming
our beautiful desert in addition to jeopardizing our health, tourist economy, and overall
quality of life for uncertain financial gain. Just because other desert cities succumb to such
short term thinking doesn’t mean that we should, too.
Peter Moruzzi