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San Bernardino planning commission backs AB 98 truck‑route map and warehouse standards, urges outreach
Summary
The Planning Commission unanimously recommended adoption of a citywide truck‑route map and implementation of AB 98 warehouse design standards, directing staff to publish routes, install signage and coordinate enforcement and outreach to sensitive communities.
The San Bernardino Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that City Council adopt a citywide truck‑route map and direct staff to implement the warehouse design and build standards required by California Assembly Bill 98.
Director Gabriel Elliott told commissioners the package includes a General Plan amendment to add a goods‑movement section, a municipal code change (Title 10, Article 1, Chapter 10.24, adding §10.24.195) adopting the truck‑route map by reference, and direction to apply AB 98 standards in upcoming development code amendments. Elliott said the city relied on a 2022 KOA study and that AB 98 requires cities to adopt truck routes and warehouse standards by January 1, 2026.
The standards the city plans to apply include minimum setbacks between loading doors and sensitive uses, buffering and screening requirements, anti‑idling signs and a three‑minute idling maximum, requirements for truck‑routing plans showing hours and routes, and a 2‑for‑1 affordable‑housing replacement where a warehouse removes existing residences, the director said.
Public commenters and community groups welcomed the policy’s aims but pressed staff for more outreach and clearer receptor mapping. "It took months of asking for a meeting," said Jim Montez, a community member. "I couldn't find a website or information where the community could actually participate." Montez urged the city to mark schools, health facilities and other sensitive receptors on maps so commissioners and the public can assess impacts.
City staff and public‑works officials replied that the KOA study considered sensitive uses and that the proposed truck routes follow major arterials to limit impacts on residential neighborhoods. City Engineer Azam Jafsheh said the city will install traffic‑control measures such as revised turning radiuses where trucks would otherwise damage curb and signal hardware.
Sergeant Paul Kelly of the San Bernardino Police Department’s Commercial Enforcement Unit said enforcement will combine outreach and education with progressively stricter citations: "We do outreach to drivers by giving them maps" and will allow a grace/education period before issuing full enforcement tickets. He said the unit operates roughly weekdays from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. and clears hundreds of CRM complaints monthly.
Elliott told the commission engineering estimated about $73,000 to manufacture and install route signage after adoption and that the truck‑route map will be posted in GIS format on the city website, shared with fleet operators and distributed to the California Trucking Association.
Several commissioners sought assurances that the 2022 study accounted for warehouses developed since then and for coordination with Caltrans and neighboring jurisdictions. Elliott said the KOA work accounted for future industrial areas and that staff had reached out to adjacent cities; Caltrans controls state highway geometry and signals but staff will run coordination requests where signal equipment needs relocation.
The commission also directed staff to include AB 98 and the adopted truck‑route map in the city’s development code update and to return any additional implementation details with the Council submittal. The commission’s action is a recommendation to City Council; Council action is required to finalize the amendments and trigger signage and enforcement implementation.
