Warehouse clean-up bills advance with positive changes for cities, but more work is needed

By Melissa Sparks-Kranz, legislative advocate

Two measures that would address a controversial warehouse standards law from last session advanced in the local government committees last week. Cal Cities successfully secured important revisions to the bills, AB 735 (Carrillo) and SB 415 (Reyes), and urged the authors to adopt additional changes.

Signed into law last year, AB 98 (Carrillo, Juan and Reyes) created restrictions on new or expanding warehouses and a sweeping, costly statewide mandate that requires all cities to update their circulation elements to account for these changes — including truck movement. Cities that fail to do so could face $50,000 fines every six months from the Attorney General — no questions asked.

Lawmakers fast-tracked the bill after months of closed-door meetings that excluded cities and other stakeholders. They introduced the measure mere days before the final bill deadline by gutting and amending an existing one. To get it through, the authors promised to rework the hastily crafted measure this year.

What changes did Cal Cities secure?

Cal Cities secured revisions that would help cities and counties realistically meet the new requirements. Under the law, some cities must update their circulation elements to account for truck routes as early as 2026. The rest must update their elements by 2028. The two clean-up bills now include a provision that protects local governments from penalties if they are working in good faith to follow the law.

This will provide enforcement relief to all cities, but specifically those in the “warehouse concentration region” — referring to the cities in and counties of San Bernardino and Riverside — that need to complete their updates by the end of this year.

The authors also added provisions that give cities with 50,000 or fewer residents and counties with 100,000 or fewer residents until 2035 to complete these requirements. This would benefit smaller jurisdictions with less resources.    

What other amendments is Cal Cities seeking?

Despite these changes, local governments need more help to meet this new rule. Cal Cities is urging the Legislature to approve the following proposals:

• Allow local governments to develop a plan or ordinance rather than mandating a truck traffic update in the circulation element.
• Completely exempt a city or county from the circulation element update if it is not approving new or expanded logistics use projects in its community. If that changes, the city or county would need to update its circulation element according to the law.
• Clarify that the circulation element update does not trigger in that same timeframe as existing law, which already requires local governments to update their circulation elements with proactive measures for bicyclists and pedestrians. This lack of clarity increases the likelihood that cities will be fined because they must now complete two circulation element updates within strict timelines.
• Revise the bill’s definition of local roads, which it arbitrarily defines as serving 50% commercial traffic. The definition could unintentionally prevent industrial development in rural areas that are in fact away from sensitive receptors.

Cal Cities will continue to advocate for these changes to help cities comply with the law.

What else do cities need to know about AB 98?

Lawmakers are expected to make additional amendments to both AB 735 and SB 415, which are moving forward to the appropriations committees. Expect more updates from Cal Cities on the clean-up conversation. Please contact your regional public affairs managers with questions, including how to make your voice heard.