AB 98

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, sets forth various requirements relating to the review of development project permit applications and the issuance of development permits for specified classes of development projects. This bill, beginning January 1, 2026, would prescribe various statewide warehouse design and build standards for any proposed new or expanded logistics use developments, as specified, including, among other things, standards for building design and location, parking, truck loading bays, landscaping buffers, entry gates, and signage. The bill would except from those design and build standards certain existing logistics use developments, proposed expansions of a logistics use development, and property currently in a local entitlement process to become a logistics use, under prescribed conditions. The bill would require a facility operator, prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy, to establish and submit for approval by a city, county, or city and county a truck routing plan to and from the state highway system based on the latest truck route map of the city, county, or city and county, as prescribed. The bill would require a facility operator to enforce the plan. The bill would provide for the revision of the plan in specified circumstances. The bill would prohibit a city, county, or city and county from approving development of a logistics use that does not meet or exceed the standards outlined in the bill. The bill would require a city, county, or city and county to condition approval of a logistics use on 2-to-1 replacement of any demolished housing unit that was occupied within the last 10 years unless the housing unit was declared substandard by a building official, as specified, and payments to displaced tenants if residential dwellings are affected through purchase, as prescribed. The bill would define terms for these purposes. (2) The Planning and Zoning Law requires the legislative body of each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city and specified land outside its boundaries that includes, among other specified mandatory elements, a circulation element consisting of the general location and extent of existing and proposed major thoroughfares, transportation routes, terminals, any military airports and ports, and other local public utilities and facilities, all correlated with the land use element of the plan. Existing law requires, upon any substantive revision of the circulation element, that the legislative body modify the element to address specified additional issues. This bill would require a county or city, by January 1, 2028, except as provided, to update its circulation element, as prescribed, including identifying and establishing specific travel routes for the transport of goods, materials, or freight for storage, transfer, or redistribution to safely accommodate additional truck traffic and avoid residential areas and concentrations of sensitive receptors, as defined. The bill would establish specific standards for truck routes. The bill would require a county or city to provide for posting of conspicuous signage to identify truck routes and additional signage for truck parking and appropriate idling facility locations. The bill would require a county or city to make truck routes publicly available and share maps of the truck routes with warehouse operators, fleet operators, and truck drivers. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to enforce these provisions, as provided, including by imposition of a fine of up to $50,000 every 6 months if the required updates have not been made. (3) Existing law provides for the creation of the South Coast Air Quality Management District in those portions of the Counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino included within the area of the South Coast Air Basin, as specified. Existing law provides that the south coast district is governed by a board consisting of 13 members and requires the district to adopt rules and regulations to carry out the south coast district air quality management plan that are not in conflict with state and federal laws and rules and regulations. This bill would require the south coast district to establish a process for receiving community input on how any penalties assessed and collected for violation of the Warehouse Indirect Source Rule are spent, as specified. The bill would require the south coast district, subject to an appropriation for this express purpose, to, beginning on January 1, 2026, and until January 1, 2032, deploy mobile air monitoring systems within the Counties of Riverside and San Bernardino to collect air pollution measurements in communities that are near operational logistics use developments. The bill would require the south coast district to use the data collected to conduct an air modeling analysis to evaluate the impact of air pollution on sensitive receptors from logistics use development operations and to submit its findings to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2033. The bill would also require the district to submit an interim report to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2028, to evaluate the impact of air pollution on sensitive receptors, as defined, from logistics use development operations in the Counties of Riverside and San Bernardino, as provided. (4) By modifying the duties of local agencies with regard to the approval of logistics use development and requiring the revision of the circulation element of a general plan, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. (6) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.