Highland Extends Warehouse Permits Near Schools in Area Home to 20,000 Residents

More than 50 residents filled the Highland Planning Commission meeting July 21 to oppose three-year extensions for two proposed warehouse projects near homes, schools and neighborhoods already affected by truck traffic.

After more than 20 people spoke, commissioners voted unanimously to extend Conditional Use Permits 23-003 and 22-011 for the proposed Patriot Partners developments. The projects would include warehouses of approximately 53,665 square feet and 47,889 square feet near Indian Springs High School and a Head Start program in an area serving more than 1,700 students.

Residents told commissioners the decision was not simply about extending permit deadlines. They said it could bring additional diesel emissions, heavy-truck traffic, roadway damage, noise and safety risks to neighborhoods where basic infrastructure needs remain unresolved.

Janet Seaton, a Highland resident of 49 years, said the proposals represent the first major development issue that has made her question the city’s direction.

She pointed to a YMCA, park and library built near her neighborhood as examples of projects that directly benefited residents. Warehouses, she said, would not offer the same community value.

“The future of this community does not include, in my opinion, warehouses,” Seaton said. She said the city should instead consider parks, community gardens, senior services and other investments centered on residents.

Seaton described her neighborhood as predominantly Black, Latino and elderly. She said many longtime residents do not want to leave and may be unable to afford comparable housing elsewhere.

“I don’t want to sell my home. I don’t want to move,” Seaton said. “I have a friend around the corner. He’s 94 years old. He can’t move.”

“They should consider the people who live in the communities first,” she added, saying city leaders should focus on what residents want and what is best for the neighborhood.

Maria Sanchez, who said she lives less than a mile from one proposed site, worries about how additional truck traffic would affect her 11-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter.

Speaking through an interpreter, Sanchez said one child walks to school and another travels by bicycle or scooter. She has seen tractor-trailers maneuver near children on neighborhood streets, leaving her fearful for their safety.

Sanchez said the area has changed dramatically during the seven years she has lived there. Where she once saw citrus groves near Fifth Street, she now sees warehouses, damaged roads and growing truck traffic.

She said potholes and deteriorating pavement have led to repeated vehicle repairs for her family and neighbors. Although the city attempts to patch damaged streets, she said some repairs wash away after rain.

Sanchez also described truck noise audible inside her home with the windows closed. Her children have experienced increased allergies, coughs and other respiratory symptoms, she said, and she knows families whose children have been diagnosed with asthma.

“We don’t need any more warehouses near the houses,” Sanchez said through the interpreter.

She urged the city to prioritize street repairs, sidewalks, lighting and community centers, saying her neighborhood lacks adequate sidewalks and lighting despite residents paying taxes and repeatedly requesting improvements.

The San Bernardino City Unified School District also urged city officials to reject the extensions. In a July 21 letter signed by Thomas Pace, director of facilities planning and development, the district cited diesel particulate matter, roadway safety, emergency response times, pedestrian access and school transportation.

The district said its concerns were not directed at the applicant or any proposed business. Instead, officials asked the city to consider the cumulative public health and transportation effects of warehouse development, particularly for children and other sensitive populations.

“Warehouse developments have been shown to generate increased heavy-duty truck traffic that can affect local circulation, roadway safety, emergency response times, pedestrian access and school transportation operations,” the district wrote.

San Bernardino Airport Communities submitted a separate analysis estimating that 20,803 residents live in the warehouse-impacted area north of San Bernardino International Airport, south of Base Line Street and west of the 210 Freeway.

Using 2024 American Community Survey five-year estimates, the organization reported that approximately 74% of residents in the affected area are Latino. Its analysis also identified eight nearby elementary, middle and high schools.

The organization said the area includes three low-income census tracts, one very-low-income tract and one moderate-income tract. It identified four census tracts in East Highland as upper income.

Community members said the comparison reflects a larger pattern: lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color are being asked to absorb more truck traffic, air pollution and industrial development while continuing to wait for sidewalks, lighting, parks and street improvements.

Chair Randall Hamerly, Vice Chair Chandra Thomas and commissioners Nicole McCance, Jarrod Miller and Brent Merideth voted to grant the extensions.

The decision allows the project entitlements to remain active, but residents said it would not end their opposition. San Bernardino Airport Communities leaders and neighborhood advocates plan to continue pressing city officials to consider cumulative health, traffic and quality-of-life impacts before allowing additional warehouse development.

For Seaton, the issue comes down to whether Highland’s planning decisions serve the people who have spent decades building their lives there.

“First, consider the people,” she said.