For immediate release
November 24, 2015

The City Council tonight unanimously adopted three initiatives submitted last week by the Moreno Valley Jobs Coalition that would allow the 40.6 million square foot project to move forward. The three initiatives replace the WLC Project approval by the City Council on August 25, 2015.

“With tonight’s unanimous vote, the City Council approved three voter initiatives that affirm the Council’s previous approval of the World Logistics Center,” stated Mayor Jesse Molina. “Nearly 49,000 signatures from Moreno Valley voters on the initiative petitions attest to the great promise that the WLC holds for our city’s future.”

The economic, legal, social, technological and other benefits for the World Logistics Center were well documented during a three-year review period with full public hearings and a 10,000-page certified Environmental Impact Report. The WLC project will create one of the world’s most advanced logistics clusters in Moreno Valley. According to an economic study of the project, it will generate approximately 13,000 construction jobs and 20,000 permanent jobs at a variety of skill levels. The project will contribute approximately $2.5 billion to the City and the region.

“Nine lawsuits were filed in an attempt to use the California Environmental Quality Act process to delay this project and the many benefits it will bring to the region,” added Mayor Molina. “The voters who signed these initiatives made it clear – they will not stand for abuse of the CEQA process by those who want to block job creation.”

“Delaying the WLC project, which the City Council previously approved, would only bring harm to our community,” concluded Mayor Molina. “The project’s significant job creation, coupled with an estimated $150 million annual economic benefit, requires that the WLC be allowed to proceed as quickly as possible. Delaying this project for two to three years would cost this community nearly $500 million. That’s a price we’re just not willing to pay.”

Background

On August 25, 2015, the City Council approved the World Logistics Center project (“WLC Project”), which is a master-planned development encompassing up to 40.6 million square feet of building area specifically designed to support large-scale logistics operations. The WLC project will be located in the eastern portion of Moreno Valley south of State Highway 60 between Redlands Boulevard and Gilman Springs Road, north of the San Jacinto Wildlife Area.

On September 14 and 15, 2015, three initiative petitions on the World Logistics Center were filed with the City Clerk’s office. On November 16, the City Clerk’s office began a preliminary review of signed petitions and, once her office determined that the petitions met the threshold stated in the California Elections Code, it proceeded with a signature verification process and a random sampling technique. On November 23, 2015, the City Clerk’s office completed a random sample check and indicated that all three petitions met the requirements for the percentage of verified signatures, as required in the California Elections Code.

With the random sample check complete and the signatures verified, the initiatives were presented to the City Council and after extensive public comment and deliberation, the City Council exercised the option of immediately adopting all three initiatives.

For a more detailed description of the initiative petition review process and the options available to the City Council, please review the staff report prepared by Interim City Attorney Steve Quintanilla. It is available on the City’s website at www.moval.org.

For more information, please contact Michelle Dawson at michelled@moval.org or (951) 413-3020.