The city of Carson, a key waystation for goods traveling through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, has backed off aspects of a plan to severely limit logistics operations, though a strict moratorium on many new operations remains.

The City Council last week voted to extend a 45-day moratorium on logistics and chemical facilities, a measure crafted in response to some residents’ rising frustration with truck traffic on or next to residential streets. The moratorium now extends to March.

“The original moratorium was a case of overreach and was simply untenable,” said George Boyle, chief executive of Quik Pick Express, a trucking, drayage, and warehouse company that started in Carson in 1988 and now has five facilities in the city. “There shouldn’t be a moratorium at all, but if one has to continue, at least it is a little more reasonable.”

The council did back off a draconian provision of the moratorium that effectively capped new or renewed warehouse leases at three years, a time frame virtually unheard of for industrial deals, extending the limit to seven years.

The ordinance, which passed unanimously, keeps in place a ban on new or renewed leases for truck yards, hazardous materials, and container storage facilities. It also prohibits the city from issuing permits for new or significant expansions of warehouses, truck yards, or chemical storage facilities.

Anyone seeking an exception can appeal to the council for a waiver.

But logistics executives and business groups said even the revised language will cause difficulty.

“My trucking company is operating at full capacity and needs to expand,” said Francisco Franco, founder and president of Franco Trucking Inc. “But with this moratorium, I cannot expand. Even worse, many of my clients won’t be able to grow their facilities in Carson, which means I would lose that extra business.”

Trucks vs. residents

At its core, the conflict is between the pressure on logistics facilities to expand and residents upset over truck traffic.

Cargo volumes and shipments of online purchases are rising at a time when the Los Angeles County-wide industrial vacancy rate is under 1 percent. As a result, Carson has been flooded with applications for new or expanded logistics facilities. The city sits at a key location for regional logistics, just north of the ports, near rail yards, and with easy access to several freeways.

At the end of February, the last full month before the moratorium, applications for four new warehouses totaling 1.1 million square feet were going through the approval process, according to a city planning document. The applications came also in February after the council approved construction of three warehouses totaling more than 250,000 square feet.

The city of nearly 94,000 residents has 50 million square feet of industrial space, most of which is for logistical uses including warehouses and truck yards, according to city documents.

All this new warehouse activity has sparked alarm from residents, who say their streets are already being overrun with trucks serving existing warehouses and truck yards. At last week’s hearing, dozens of residents spoke out about trucks in their neighborhoods, the noise they generate, the danger they pose to children, and even the opening of cracks in their homes.

“Just yesterday, I was in the kitchen and heard this shaking noise and looked out the window,” said Carson resident Brenda Ramirez. “I saw a big old truck coming down the street with a wide-load sign and these big old huge tires. It was trying to turn around, went on a sidewalk, and almost knocked over a fire hydrant. That’s not the first time this has happened – not by a long shot.

“We’re getting so many trucks coming down the street that even when the city fills a pothole, within two days the pothole is right back down again. It’s so frustrating.”

Other residents also expressed concern over facilities that store hazardous materials, some of which are close to residential neighborhoods.

Councilman Cedric Hicks, one of the leading proponents of the moratorium, said these and other complaints prompted him to support the restrictions.

“Residents need relief from through-truck traffic,” Hicks said. “The city needs to change. And, whether the businesses like it or not, it is this moratorium that finally brought them to the table.”

But logistics executives and business leaders contend that a moratorium is too blunt an instrument to address the concerns.

“Moratoriums create great uncertainty,” Tracy Hernandez, chief executive of the Los Angeles County Business Federation, said in an op-ed in the Daily Breeze printed the week before the council vote. “For employers, especially in the highly competitive trucking, warehousing, and logistics sectors, certainty is a key element in retaining and attracting jobs and making long-term investments.”

Financial impact

Indeed, the uncertainty created by the initial moratorium has been cited as the main factor for several logistics-related deals being put on hold in recent weeks.

“We are concerned that projects we are planning might be subject to the moratorium,” said Loren Miles, trustee of a real estate trust that owns an industrial property in Carson. “We have been in discussion with potential investors and partners who have decided to not pursue a business relationship because of the pending moratorium.”

Miles said he is also concerned about the broader message the moratorium sends to people and companies that are considering whether to invest in the city.

“Everyone should be collectively concerned about this moratorium,” he said.

And the concern goes beyond Carson’s borders.

“Every day, 1.6 million tons of freight are moved throughout Southern California valued at $4.7 billion, and the city of Carson is an important conduit of this movement,” said Somjita Mitra, senior economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. who also testified at the hearing. “Carson plays a crucial role due to its proximity to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, extensive network of industrial warehouses, and experienced workforce. If companies that are considering new locations and new projects cannot anticipate what will happen in the city of Carson, they will likely to choose to do business elsewhere.”

Next steps?

With 10 more months until the moratorium ends, council members said during last week’s hearing that they intend to use the time to craft new policies for the logistics industry in the city. At the top of the list is looking to see whether existing routes designated for trucks need to change.

City staff and council members also spoke of getting a better inventory of facilities storing hazardous materials.

Logistics executives said they support these steps, but they also asserted that the city could have taken these steps without resorting to the moratorium.

“We are all supportive of the community and want to discuss whether we should enact limits on truck and warehouse hours, truck routes, etc.,” Miles said. “But a moratorium is not required for that.”trucking, drayage, and warehouse company that started in Carson in 1988 and now has five facilities in the city. “There shouldn’t be a moratorium at all, but if one has to continue, at least it is a little more reasonable.”

The council did back off a draconian provision of the moratorium that effectively capped new or renewed warehouse leases at three years, a time frame virtually unheard of for industrial deals, extending the limit to seven years.

The ordinance, which passed unanimously, keeps in place a ban on new or renewed leases for truck yards, hazardous materials, and container storage facilities. It also prohibits the city from issuing permits for new or significant expansions of warehouses, truck yards, or chemical storage facilities.

Anyone seeking an exception can appeal to the council for a waiver.

But logistics executives and business groups said even the revised language will cause difficulty.

“My trucking company is operating at full capacity and needs to expand,” said Francisco Franco, founder and president of Franco Trucking Inc. “But with this moratorium, I cannot expand. Even worse, many of my clients won’t be able to grow their facilities in Carson, which means I would lose that extra business.”

Trucks vs. residents

At its core, the conflict is between the pressure on logistics facilities to expand and residents upset over truck traffic.

Cargo volumes and shipments of online purchases are rising at a time when the Los Angeles County-wide industrial vacancy rate is under 1 percent. As a result, Carson has been flooded with applications for new or expanded logistics facilities. The city sits at a key location for regional logistics, just north of the ports, near rail yards, and with easy access to several freeways.

At the end of February, the last full month before the moratorium, applications for four new warehouses totaling 1.1 million square feet were going through the approval process, according to a city planning document. The applications came also in February after the council approved construction of three warehouses totaling more than 250,000 square feet.

The city of nearly 94,000 residents has 50 million square feet of industrial space, most of which is for logistical uses including warehouses and truck yards, according to city documents.

All this new warehouse activity has sparked alarm from residents, who say their streets are already being overrun with trucks serving existing warehouses and truck yards. At last week’s hearing, dozens of residents spoke out about trucks in their neighborhoods, the noise they generate, the danger they pose to children, and even the opening of cracks in their homes.

“Just yesterday, I was in the kitchen and heard this shaking noise and looked out the window,” said Carson resident Brenda Ramirez. “I saw a big old truck coming down the street with a wide-load sign and these big old huge tires. It was trying to turn around, went on a sidewalk, and almost knocked over a fire hydrant. That’s not the first time this has happened – not by a long shot.

“We’re getting so many trucks coming down the street that even when the city fills a pothole, within two days the pothole is right back down again. It’s so frustrating.”

Other residents also expressed concern over facilities that store hazardous materials, some of which are close to residential neighborhoods.

Councilman Cedric Hicks, one of the leading proponents of the moratorium, said these and other complaints prompted him to support the restrictions.

“Residents need relief from through-truck traffic,” Hicks said. “The city needs to change. And, whether the businesses like it or not, it is this moratorium that finally brought them to the table.”

But logistics executives and business leaders contend that a moratorium is too blunt an instrument to address the concerns.

“Moratoriums create great uncertainty,” Tracy Hernandez, chief executive of the Los Angeles County Business Federation, said in an op-ed in the Daily Breeze printed the week before the council vote. “For employers, especially in the highly competitive trucking, warehousing, and logistics sectors, certainty is a key element in retaining and attracting jobs and making long-term investments.”

Financial impact

Indeed, the uncertainty created by the initial moratorium has been cited as the main factor for several logistics-related deals being put on hold in recent weeks.

“We are concerned that projects we are planning might be subject to the moratorium,” said Loren Miles, trustee of a real estate trust that owns an industrial property in Carson. “We have been in discussion with potential investors and partners who have decided to not pursue a business relationship because of the pending moratorium.”

Miles said he is also concerned about the broader message the moratorium sends to people and companies that are considering whether to invest in the city.

“Everyone should be collectively concerned about this moratorium,” he said.

And the concern goes beyond Carson’s borders.

“Every day, 1.6 million tons of freight are moved throughout Southern California valued at $4.7 billion, and the city of Carson is an important conduit of this movement,” said Somjita Mitra, senior economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. who also testified at the hearing. “Carson plays a crucial role due to its proximity to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, extensive network of industrial warehouses, and experienced workforce. If companies that are considering new locations and new projects cannot anticipate what will happen in the city of Carson, they will likely to choose to do business elsewhere.”

Next steps?

With 10 more months until the moratorium ends, council members said during last week’s hearing that they intend to use the time to craft new policies for the logistics industry in the city. At the top of the list is looking to see whether existing routes designated for trucks need to change.

City staff and council members also spoke of getting a better inventory of facilities storing hazardous materials.

Logistics executives said they support these steps, but they also asserted that the city could have taken these steps without resorting to the moratorium.

“We are all supportive of the community and want to discuss whether we should enact limits on truck and warehouse hours, truck routes, etc.,” Miles said. “But a moratorium is not required for that.”