Riverside County supervisors have voted to sue Moreno Valley over the World Logistics Center, saying plans for the massive warehouse complex don’t adequately address traffic concerns.

The Board of Supervisors unanimously decided to move ahead with litigation during a closed session Tuesday, Sept. 15, the county announced in a news release. The county is open to delaying its lawsuit if Moreno Valley agrees to address traffic issues and environmental concerns, the release stated.

“The county reached out this afternoon to city officials, who declined the county’s offer to postpone the filing if Moreno Valley would negotiate ways to mitigate the concerns,” the release stated.

Supervisor Marion Ashley, whose district includes Moreno Valley, said the board didn’t think the conditions of approval attached to the project’s environmental impact report properly addressed problems that would be posed by the World Logistics Center.

The project, he said, could affect his entire district, which includes the Pass and Perris.

Moreno Valley Mayor Jesse Molina said he learned of the county’s move from a reporter and had no comment..

In statement Tuesday, company President/CEO Iddo Benzeevi touted the estimated 13,500 construction jobs the project would create, as well as the 20,000 jobs the center would bring to a city he has said sorely needs them.

Logistics center supporters have said it will bring in some $2.6 billion in annual payroll and contracts, plus wider economic benefits for the Inland region.

The county’s lawsuit, Benzeevi said in the statement, “will not result in any new roads nor create any local jobs and will only serve to enrich lawyers. It is a great waste of taxpayer money.”

The city’s approval last month of the 40 million square-foot project failed to address traffic and pollution worries, county officials contend.

Of particular concern to Riverside County is Gilman Springs Road, a two-lane county road at the project’s eastern boundary. In letters to the city, Juan Perez, director of the Riverside County Transportation and Land Management Agency, said the road already is handling as much traffic as it can and the project would add another 6,019 cars and 420 trucks a day.

The environmental report stated that the road should be widened to at least four lanes and as much as six lanes in some places. But, because most of the road is outside the city in the unincorporated county area, the city report stated there is no guarantee the improvements would be made.

The project as a whole would draw 68,721 vehicle trips a day, 14,006 of which would be trucks, a project environmental report states.

NO RIVERSIDE LAWSUIT

Meanwhile, Riverside City Council members emerged from their Tuesday afternoon special closed-door meeting to announce they would not to sue their neighbor.

Riverside officials had raised concerns about traffic, air pollution and other issues they feared the logistics center would create.

Calling the move an “olive branch,” Riverside City Manager John Russo said after the meeting that the city would work with other Inland communities and agencies to address deficiencies in roads and other infrastructure.

In August, Riverside council members authorized the city attorney to sue, but nothing was filed in court.

“No one should interpret this vote as a vote of support for the project as it’s currently constituted,” Russo said, adding that council members are concerned about traffic the center is projected to generate.

“This is not just about Moreno Valley and it’s not just about the project,” Russo said. “It’s about looking at the future of the region and hoping we can discuss these things without going to the legal option.”

The fact that other agencies and groups planned legal action also factored into the decision, he said.

OTHERS COULD SUE

The Moreno Valley City Council in August approved Benzeevi’s plans for the center, a goods distribution hub that would cover the equivalent of more than 700 football fields. The 30-day deadline to sue challenging the project’s environmental report is Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Benzeevi and Moreno Valley officials may also face a legal challenge from the Jurupa Valley-based Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, which has vowed to go to court over the project.

Center Executive Director Penny Newman said Tuesday that her group is preparing a lawsuit and will file by the deadline.

Newman called the project’s environmental report “woefully deficient” and said truck traffic from the logistics center would be “pretty monumental in increasing pollution for communities that are already heavily impacted.”

Contact the writer: 951-368-9547 or jhorseman@pe.com | 951-368-9461 or arobinson@pe.com | 951-368-9558 or ighori@pe.com

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

WORLD LOGISTICS CENTER: Final vote filled with tension

LOGISTICS: Will warehouse make Moreno Valley the next Ontario or Mira Loma?

Q&A: Key things to know about the project