STOCKTON, Calif. — The California Department of Justice is concerned about the impact on the environment from Stockton's continued development of warehouses, the department announced Tuesday.
The department, headed by Attorney General Rob Bonta, entered an agreement with the City of Stockton Tuesday to address those concerns.
According to Bonta's office, the Department of Justice first became concerned about the city's warehouses when a proposal surfaced to build a seven-building 3.6 million-square-foot warehouse complex in southeast Stockton.
The project has been dubbed the "Mariposa Industrial Park" and is still in the proposal stage.
In a press release, the Attorney General's Office said studies show south Stockton's neighborhoods fall within the top 10% of California neighborhoods with the highest burden from being exposed to pollution. Some neighborhoods in south Stockton register in the top 1%.
The Mariposa Industrial Park project would include hundreds of thousands of square feet to be in use 24/7, according to the Attorney General's Office.
The office estimates the project would include over 12,000 vehicle trips per day to and from fulfillment centers, logistic centers and warehouses in the area.
The 13-page agreement approved by Bonta's office and Stockton's City Council will apply to all future warehouse developments in the city. It calls on the city to create a warehouse ordinance better addressing specific environmental concerns.
“For too long, warehouses have proliferated throughout California with little consideration of the health and safety impacts to the surrounding communities,” Attorney General Bonta said in a statement. "These life-saving measures are technologically and economically feasible and will substantially reduce the environmental impacts of warehouse development on the surrounding communities. I hope this serves as a model for future warehouse projects across the state.”
Some of the changes called for in the agreement include requiring warehouses to utilize a 100% electric vehicle on-site truck fleet.
The Attorney General's Office described the agreement as one of the most advanced measures in the state to address a warehouse development project's impact on the community.
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