Hemet reports settlement on contested warehouse project; new hearing set and two council members will recuse

The Hemet City Council was briefed on Feb. 10 about a settlement designed to resolve allegations of procedural bias over a proposed large warehouse project, and staff announced a new public hearing for March 10, 2026.

City Attorney reported the city reached a settlement with HSL Hemet Land LLC and Hemet 223 LLC to resolve claims that a prior denial of the Newland Simpson warehouse project was tainted by participation of biased decision-makers. The agreement includes a procedural reset: the city will schedule a fresh public hearing, the applicants must indemnify the city against third-party challenges, and the property owner released the city from previous bias or due-process claims.

The city attorney said the settlement is intended to protect taxpayer funds and avoid prolonged civil-rights litigation. He noted the settlement “is not an approval of the project” and that a new hearing will be publicly noticed and held at a regular council meeting. The attorney also reported that Council Members Lodge and Clark have voluntarily agreed to recuse from the new hearing after being advised of the potential legal exposure to the city; the attorney emphasized recusal is voluntary and “not an admission of wrongdoing.”

The council did not take a final land-use vote at the meeting; the report was informational and framed as a step to ensure a legally defensible record for the city before any subsequent approval or denial. Public notice of the March 10 hearing will be issued, and the council indicated it will accept public comment at that meeting.

The announcement followed a closed-session discussion and was presented as part of the city attorney’s report out to the full council. No other legal terms were released at the meeting beyond those summarized by the attorney.