Planning Commission opens EIR scoping for Paradise Pointe Business Park; public voices opposition to more warehouses

The Tracy Planning Commission on June 11, 2025 opened scoping for an environmental impact report (EIR) for the proposed Paradise Pointe Business Park, a roughly 52.7-acre industrial project at the corner of Christman Road and Paradise Avenue. Planning staff and the project's EIR consultant outlined the scope, schedule and the major issues the draft EIR will study, and received verbal public comments. The public comment period for the notice of preparation was already open May 16 and runs through June 14, 2025.

Victoria Lombardo of planning staff introduced the item and said the public scoping meeting is intended to identify issues the EIR should analyze beyond standard CEQA topics. Consultant Elise Laws described the EIR as a disclosure document required under CEQA that evaluates potential environmental impacts, mitigation measures and feasible alternatives. Laws said the draft EIR will examine air quality and greenhouse gases, hazards and hazardous materials, noise, transportation, cumulative and growth-inducing impacts and that the city anticipates circulating a draft EIR for a 45-day public review period later this year with a final EIR and hearings next year.

Staff and consultant materials describe a project program of two light-industrial warehouse buildings totaling about 718,000 square feet, associated parking and right-of-way work, and a roughly 10.2-acre remediation area on the southern portion of the site related to a historic crop-dusting landing strip where pesticides were used. Lombardo and Elise Laws said portions of the remediated area could be dedicated to the city for Christman Road right-of-way as part of a planned I-205/Christman interchange. Laws said remediation plans had been coordinated with applicable state agencies and that the most contaminated area is the former hangar footprint; consultant and applicant representatives stated the contamination did not reach groundwater and that remediation is a multi-million dollar undertaking.

Trevor Smith, planning consultant for the applicant, told the commission the worst contamination is confined to the airstrip area and the hangar footprint and that cleanup would enable future right-of-way dedication for the interstate interchange. "We're gonna clean it up. It's a multimillion dollar cleanup," Smith said.

Several members of the public spoke in opposition to the project at the scoping stage. Tim Solow said Tracy already has many warehouses, some of them underutilized, and argued the city should seek higher-value land uses and protect agricultural land. Solow said he disapproved of additional warehouse development and criticized city outreach and advertising for major projects. Another speaker, Tim Silva, asked that pedestrian and bicycle safety be included as part of the CIP and raised concerns about midblock crosswalk illumination and bicycle facilities; staff said the CIP separately contains multiple safety projects and that the EIR will analyze transportation and traffic impacts.

Commissioners asked about whether the contamination affects adjacent properties; staff said the applicant's Phase I/Phase II reports focus on on-site conditions and that the EIR will evaluate any off-site impacts or remediation needs. Commissioners also asked whether landscaping and tree screening could be used to soften freeway-facing building appearances if a variance is requested for development closer to I‑205; staff said perimeter landscaping and screening would be considered during the later development-review and design process. The applicant has applied for a variance from the city's I-205 overlay because remediation constrains building placement and forces structures closer to the freeway than the overlay ordinarily allows; staff said the variance request will be considered after the EIR is complete.

No formal action was required or taken on June 11; the hearing served to collect public input for scoping. Next steps staff described: complete draft EIR, circulate for 45-day public review, respond to comments in a final EIR and return to planning commission and city council for certification and subsequent consideration of development-review and variance applications.

Why this matters: The site is in Tracy's northeast industrial area; remediation needs and the proposed variance to allow buildings closer to I‑205 raise issues about hazardous-material cleanup, future right-of-way dedication for a freeway interchange, and the city's long-term industrial land-use strategy. Public testimony demonstrated opposition from some residents who prefer different types of development and asked for more robust outreach and protections for agricultural land.

How to comment: Staff accepted written comments during the notice period (May 16–June 14) and will post draft documents for public review when prepared.