213-Acre Bloomington Business Park Approved After Supervisors Add Housing, Data Center Restrictions
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San Bernardino County Vice Chair Joe Baca Jr. speaks during a Sept. 22 public hearing on the Bloomington Park Specific Plan. Photos by Christopher Salazar.
Despite pleas from advocates and residents, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors approved the Bloomington Business Park Specific Plan Sept. 22. The move clears the way for a large 213-acre industrial development that could bring more than 3.2 million square feet of warehouse, manufacturing, office and business park use to the unincorporated community.
The vote marks the latest chapter in a yearslong fight over industrial development in Bloomington, where residents and environmental groups have raised concerns about air pollution, truck traffic, housing displacement and warehouses operating near homes and schools. A San Bernardino County Superior Court judge previously set aside the project’s environmental approval after finding deficiencies in portions of the county’s environmental analysis, prompting the county to revise and recirculate portions of its Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
Supervisor Paul Cook abstained from the vote because he did not feel confident enough to take a position. The project approved by the board, however, differed from the original proposal brought before them Tuesday morning.
At the request of Vice Chair Joe Baca Jr., supervisors removed data processing and storage centers as permitted uses. Supervisors also strengthened a housing-replacement condition requiring the developer to complete two replacement homes before any of the business park’s buildings can be occupied.
The housing amendment followed concerns over compliance with state housing law, with county staff telling supervisors that two replacement units are currently required and that additional units could be added if evidence of the qualifying residencies is submitted before occupancy.
The amendments came after hours of public testimony from Bloomington residents, environmental advocates and organized labor over the project’s health, housing and economic impacts.
“I can’t support this project with a data center being allowed use because I do have concerns,” Baca said, citing electricity and water use among the issues he believes warrant further county consideration.
Residents opposing the project repeatedly raised concerns about additional truck traffic and pollution in a community already surrounded by industrial development.
Following the vote, Inland Empire Community News spoke with Bloomington resident and organizer Joaquin Castillejos.
“The economic benefits do not come close to outweigh the health impacts and the impacts to our quality of life,” Castillejos said.
The People’s Collective for Environmental Justice (PC4EJ), one of the groups challenging the project, also criticized the board’s decision.
PC4EJ said the amendments did not resolve their legal concerns. They pointed to a recent state housing department letter from California Senator Eloise Gómez Reyes addressing the project’s replacement-housing obligations and argued that the project still fails to comply with the Housing Crisis Act, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Assembly Bill 98 (AB 98).
Sage Morton, a descendant of the Gabrielino-Tongva Tribe, speaks against the Bloomington Business Park Specific Plan during the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors meeting Sept. 22, urging officials to consider the project’s impact on the land and all life it supports. 
Residents, environmental advocates and union members fill the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors chamber Sept. 22 for a hearing on the 213-acre Bloomington Business Park, which supervisors approved after adding data center and housing restrictions.
“PC4EJ will keep fighting these warehouse complexes until our community is protected,” the organization said in a statement.
Union labor provided a counterargument, emphasizing the wages and benefits construction projects can provide.
Julie Luu, a representative of the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters, said the union supports the developer because it works with signatory contractors governed by labor standards and agreements.
When asked about the residents’ environmental concerns, Luu said she did not want to speak beyond her expertise.
“I don’t want to disregard people, I don’t want to disregard humanity either,” Luu said. “I’m here to organize the labor itself.”
The project also includes a community benefits agreement to fund infrastructure improvements in Bloomington. County staff confirmed during questioning from Baca that the developer would provide more than $5 million initially and roughly $1 million annually over the project’s life, alongside storm-drain upgrades.
Castillejos questioned whether those benefits compensate residents for the project’s long-term effects.
“I don’t see that outweighing the fact that residents of Bloomington are never going to have the same quality of life,” he said.
For Sage Morton, a tribal descendent of the Gabrielino-Tongva Tribe, the issue extends further to a broader duty of stewardship.
“We view ourselves as relatives to the plants, animals and land itself,” Morton said during public comment. “And by extension, we have a responsibility to not just care for humans, but all life on this land.”
While advocates said they’re disappointed in the decision, they emphasized that they’re going to continue to challenge the project.
