Moreno Valley staff present draft truck‑route map to comply with AB 98 and SB 415; public urges stronger enforcement

The Moreno Valley Planning Commission on Feb. 12 received a staff presentation on a proposed truck‑route map intended to bring the city into compliance with Assembly Bill 98 and Senate Bill 415.

Assistant City Engineer Harold Zamora told commissioners the state laws require designated truck routes to protect “sensitive receptors” — defined in state guidance as residences, schools, day cares, parks, nursing homes and hospitals — and urged that jurisdictions prioritize highways, freeways and major corridors while minimizing exposure of sensitive receptors. “The main objective of this bill is to require the local jurisdictions to adopt designated truck routes to protect sensitive receptors,” Zamora said during the presentation.

Zamora described community outreach to date, including two 2025 pop‑ups (at Moreno Valley Mall and the city library), Traffic Safety Commission briefings, meetings with school districts and stakeholders, an interactive online GIS map and flyers with QR codes to the project web page. He said the city will complete a CEQA/SEI analysis, address signage and truck parking/idling, return to the Planning Commission for a public hearing and then forward the item to the City Council.

Commissioners asked how enforcement would work. Zamora said state law requires jurisdictions to appoint at least one enforcement officer trained by the California Highway Patrol and that the city currently has two CHP‑trained officers “on board.” Commissioners and several members of the public argued that the statutory minimum would not be sufficient for Moreno Valley’s logistics concentration.

Eswan Gonzales, speaking as a Sierra Club member and Inland Valley Alliance for Environmental Justice affiliate, said the map has improved but urged further removals — specifically Gilman Springs Road — and stronger enforcement: “If there's no enforcement, one enforcement officer for the whole entire city … the city is oversaturated with warehousing. How are you gonna maintain all of that territory with one person?” Gonzales also urged more outreach and cited an Attorney General letter and Government Code section 65302.02.

Tatiana Flores of CCAEJ and the Freight Communities Action Coalition supported specific removals listed on the draft and asked the city to add interactive features (a pin‑drop option) and to explore ways to reduce idling and truck parking near sensitive areas, citing Heacock near John F. Kennedy and Marchfield Park. A resident who identified himself as George (transcript surname appears variably in the record) urged that northbound Heacock between Cactus and Alessandro be excluded to avoid trucks near apartments and homes.

Staff emphasized that federal law still allows trucks to use local roads when necessary to serve businesses and suggested Caltrans updates to truck routing/GPS would help truck drivers recognize designated routes if the map is adopted. Staff also encouraged community participation at a March 4 workshop at 6 p.m. in council chambers and via the project web page listed in the meeting as mobile.org/truckroutes.

Because this agenda item was identified as a receive‑and‑file presentation, the Planning Commission took no formal action on the map; the record shows the project will proceed to further environmental analysis, additional public outreach and future hearings before the Planning Commission and City Council.

Next steps: staff will complete the required environmental analysis, finalize signage and parking guidance, hold the March 4 community workshop and schedule the item for a Planning Commission public hearing before transmitting any ordinance to the City Council.