Planning for Locally Unwanted Land Uses: State Preemption and Warehouse Development in California

Source abstract

Problem, research strategy, and findings Planners are now faced with a new locally unwanted land use (LULU): e-commerce warehouses. These e-commerce warehouses, used for the storage and distribution of retail goods, generate negative externalities including traffic congestion and air pollution. In the Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino counties) in Southern California, the proximity of warehouses to residential development and the rezoning of residential land has triggered community pushback. Through the case study of the Bloomington Business Park in San Bernardino County (CA), I examined how the state constrains local discretion over land use. After various failed attempts to implement statewide minimum standards for warehouse development, Assembly Bill (AB) 98 was signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom in September 2024, introducing new siting requirements for select cities and unincorporated areas in the Inland Empire. This study demonstrates that state preemption in California responds to a mismatch between local incentives for fiscally lucrative land uses and the state’s housing crisis policy agenda.Takeaway for practice This study provides insight into how planners and elected officials have responded to the growth pressures and land use conflicts generated by sunrise industries, especially when these industries concentrate in select regions due to comparative advantage. Land use regulation is slow to respond to these growth pressures. Local moratoria provide a more immediate, although temporary solution. State preemption can provide greater consistency across local jurisdictions; however, AB 98 has not been applied uniformly across the Inland Empire, potentially undermining this benefit.