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Perris council moves to ban new warehouses in Business Park zone; existing CUPs grandfathered
Summary
The council voted 5-0 to introduce an amendment to chapter 19.44 of the Perris Municipal Code removing conditional‑use permitting as a path to place warehouses and distribution centers in the Business Park zoning district; existing, valid CUPs will remain allowed.
The Perris City Council on Sept. 30 approved the first reading of a zoning code text amendment that would eliminate the option of allowing warehouses and distribution centers in the Business Park (BP) zoning district through a conditional‑use permit.
Principal planner Rafael Garcia said the change implements direction council gave staff in May and aligns municipal code with the Perris Valley Commerce Center specific plan, which already prohibits warehouses in the BP designation. "This amendment would amend the land use table in section 19.44.02," Garcia told the council, explaining the change removes the conditional‑use option and instead prohibits the use in the BP zone.
The proposed text amendment includes a grandfather clause: any legally established warehouses or distribution centers with a valid conditional‑use permit issued before the amendment’s adoption may continue to operate so long as the CUP remains valid and unexpired.
Franco Pacheco, representing Inland Valley Alliance and the Freight Line Communities Action Coalition, urged the council to approve the change, saying it “closes the Business Park loophole for warehousing” and helps the city keep BP land for the uses intended in the specific plan.
The planning commission unanimously recommended the amendment on Aug. 20. The council voted 5‑0 to approve the first reading of the ordinance; the motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Raab and seconded by Councilwoman Elizabeth Vallejo.
Staff said the amendment is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act and emphasized the change would not retroactively close operations already permitted under valid CUPs. The council’s action advances the ordinance to a subsequent reading and final adoption step.
