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Council to pursue tougher industrial 'good neighbor' standards after AB 98 review; staff asked to consider code changes
Summary
After staff compared Perris' Good Neighbor industrial guidelines to California Assembly Bill 98, the council directed staff to explore stricter, code-based standards — including larger separation distances tied to warehouse size, housing-replacement language and enhanced buffers — and to review Riverside’s recent code for possible adoption.
City planning staff reviewed the city’s Industrial Good Neighbor Guidelines alongside the state’s Assembly Bill 98 standards and told the council the documents align in many respects but differ in key areas; councilmembers directed staff to return with options for stronger, code-based protections.
Planning manager Patricia Brennett summarized the comparison: both AB 98 and Perris’ guidelines address separation between loading areas and sensitive receptors and require locating access points away from sensitive uses. Brennett said the city’s guidelines are more stringent in some aspects — for example, taller screening walls, larger trees planted closer together and longer stacking lanes for entry gates — but less stringent in others. Notably, the Good Neighbor Guidelines do not address projects that require rezoning, do not include AB 98’s larger separation distances in some circumstances, and do not require housing replacement when existing housing is demolished for industrial projects.
Brennett said AB 98 requires a 500-foot separation from loading bays to sensitive receptors in some circumstances; Perris’ guideline uses a 300-foot standard. Council members cited Riverside’s recently adopted code as a reference point; Riverside’s approach links separation distance to building square footage (for example, shorter distances for small buildings and distances up to 1,500 feet for very large distribution centers).
Council members expressed strong interest in pursuing tougher local controls. Councilman Corona and others urged increasing notification radii and separation distances and moving guideline provisions into the municipal code so they are legally enforceable rather than advisory. Councilwoman Vallejo and other members asked staff to include green-building measures such as on-site renewable energy and native landscaping. Members asked staff to evaluate housing-replacement language, larger landscape buffers, and to consider a size‑based separation framework similar to Riverside’s.
Staff noted it had received a letter from Perris Neighbors in Action praising the city’s leadership and providing comparative materials. Council gave direction to return with code amendment options, clearer definitions of sensitive receptors, and analysis of distances tied to warehouse square footage.
