Photo: Manuel Ocaño / Impremedia
California Attorney General Rob Bonta called a precedent-setting agreement with the City of Fontana to protect vulnerable communities from pollution a “groundbreaking settlement.”
The agreement of the state of California is specifically with a real estate company that installed polluting warehouses next to the Jurupa Hills High School, however the prosecution warned that it is not the only site at environmental risk in the city.
“For the past five years, Fontana has been the statewide epicenter of warehouse development near schools, hospitals and other sites sensitive”, warned the prosecution.
According to Prosecutor Bonta, the agreement with the City of Fontana regarding the warehouse next to the school, on the corner of Slover and Oleander, can set the course for the solution of other similar issues.
But this case also sets precedent by the City of Fontana. The city last week adopted an ordinance establishing strict environmental standards for all future warehouse development in the city.
Bonta stated that “this agreement is not limited to mitigating the impacts of a single project. As a result of our lawsuit, the City of Fontana has adopted the strictest environmental standards in California for new warehouse projects.”
He added that the new Fontana ordinance “should even serve as a model for other local governments throughout the state.”
The agreement announced by the prosecutor will resolve accusations that the City of Fontana violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by approving the warehouse project in the south of the city next to Jurupa Hills, the prosecutor explained.
As part of the agreement, the developer Duke Realty will take substantial mitigation measures to minimize the impacts of the warehouse project on the surrounding community.
Duke Realty acknowledged the deal in a statement. The company said it has remained respectful “as the City of Fontana develops ordinance guidelines and policies that ensure development while addressing environmental concerns.”
Prosecutor Bonta declared for his part that “for years, the development of warehouses in Fontana was not controlled, and it is our most vulnerable communities that have paid the price.”
At the moment, 70 percent of Fontana’s population is Latino, according to the most recent census data.
More specifically, near 208,000 people of the 208,393 Fontana residents are Latino, according to the US Census of Population.
“Residents of South Fontana should not having to choose between economic opportunity and clean air. They deserve both. Today’s agreement demonstrates how innovative solutions can be used to address environmental injustices, without hindering development,” the prosecutor stated.
He added that “When we build, we must do it responsibly. What is more important”.
The agreement announced by the prosecutor had the support of environmental organizations such as the Sierra Club and Concerned Citizens Coalition.
“For years, Fontana residents have raised concerns about increased air pollution associated with increased warehouse development, but they haven’t been heeded,” said Liz Sena, South Fontana resident and founder of South Fontana Concerned Citizens Coalition.
Mary Ann Ruíz, president of the Sierra Club San Gorgonio chapter, said that “for more than a decade, volunteers The Sierra Club have challenged warehouse developments in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, resulting in mitigations and community benefits, including 3 prior lawsuits in Fontana.
Ruíz declared that “the difference this time was the voice Of the C community, led by Liz Sena and the South Fontana Coalition of Concerned Citizens, which caught the attention of Attorney General Bonta.”
Based on According to the agreement announced by the prosecutor, Fontana will adopt the strictest regulations in the state, with dozens of new requirements for deposit projects in its jurisdiction.
Requirements include designs to keep trucks away from sensitive sites such as schools, hospitals and day care centers, promotion of zero-emission vehicles for site operations, landscaped buffer zones, installation of solar panels to satisfy the 100 for energy needs for larger warehouses.
Fontana will also require projects and the use of environmentally friendly building materials. The city ordinance includes a number of provisions to encourage economic development and protect the health and safety of construction workers, warehouse workers, and truckers.