Planning commission recommends certification of EIR, annexation and light‑industrial zoning for Schulte Road warehouse

The Planning Commission recommended that City Council certify a final environmental impact report and approve annexation and pre‑zoning for a roughly 217,466‑square‑foot industrial warehouse on approximately 21.92 acres at 16286 West Schulte Road.

Planning staff described the proposal as two adjacent parcels: a 20.92‑acre site proposed for industrial development and an adjacent roughly 1‑acre parcel owned by a utility company that would be annexed but not developed. Staff said the project would be pre‑zoned to M‑1 (light industrial) upon annexation and that the recommended action includes a development review permit for site layout, architecture and parking.

Why it matters: The project would extend the city limit to the property, add industrial employment uses, and generate construction and ongoing jobs and tax revenues in the city’s industrial area. The final EIR identified several significant and unavoidable impacts (aesthetics/visual resources, agricultural conversion, vehicle miles traveled and cumulative air‑quality impacts following recirculation prompted by public comments); staff and the applicant presented mitigation measures and a mitigation monitoring and reporting program (MMRP) the council would be asked to adopt.

Environmental review and public process Staff said the project began with a draft EIR in August 2024 and, after substantial comment (including a major comment letter from the Sierra Club), released a recirculated draft EIR in March 2025 that focused on air quality, greenhouse gases and energy. City staff and the applicant said the recirculated analysis did not require further revision after the second comment period; the final EIR contains responses to comments and a final MMRP.

Elise (EIR consultant) told the commission that the recirculated EIR added a revised air‑quality analysis and that one additional cumulative air‑quality impact remained significant and unavoidable after feasible mitigation. Staff said the proposed mitigation includes a requirement for a transportation demand management (TDM) plan to reduce vehicle miles traveled prior to project operation and ongoing monitoring and adjustments.

Applicant and economic effects Applicant representative Abby Wertheim said the developer, a privately held industrial developer active in Northern California, intends the building to serve logistics and distribution users and emphasized sustainability features including rooftop solar capacity, EV readiness and measures to exceed current EV‑charging code requirements. She also presented an economic analysis estimating about 167 construction jobs and approximately 137 ongoing jobs associated with the completed facility, and predicted annual property‑tax contribution to the city in the low hundreds of thousands once operating.

Labor representatives from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Sheet Metal Workers Local 104 spoke in favor of the project, citing jobs and apprenticeship opportunities and saying the developer had reached out to local labor.

Outcome The Planning Commission voted to recommend City Council: certify the final EIR and adopt the MMRP and findings (including a statement of overriding considerations for unavoidable impacts); approve the development review permit; authorize staff to petition San Joaquin County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) for annexation; and adopt an ordinance pre‑zoning the combined property to M‑1 light industrial. Commissioners recorded affirmative votes in roll call.

Required follow up If the City Council accepts the recommendation, staff will submit the annexation petition to LAFCO; staff said LAFCO review typically takes a few months when property owners consent. The permit would become effective the first day after LAFCO approves the annexation, per the motion recommended by the commission.