Planning commission approves Redondo Circle warehouse project with limits on overnight truck activity

The Huntington Beach Planning Commission voted 4–2 to approve a conditional use permit and mitigated negative declaration for a two-building industrial development at 7600 Redondo Circle, subject to conditions meant to limit noise and nighttime truck operations.

Principal Planner Joanna Cortes told commissioners the proposal would demolish an existing lumberyard and construct two warehouses (approximately 98,360 square feet and 87,552 square feet) on about 9.59 acres. Staff recommended approval with conditions including on-site parking requirements, inward-facing loading docks, downward-shielded lighting, truck idling limits and noise mitigation measures tied to a perimeter wall and an independent sound study.

Commissioners and technical consultants discussed the noise analysis during the questions phase. Parshad Tarhang of acoustic consultant Somos said the noise study used measurements from an existing Huntington Beach warehouse as a reference and included a 3-dB modeling cushion intended to account for extraneous sources such as forklifts; several commissioners pressed why trailer drops and other truck-related operations were not modeled explicitly.

During public comment, residents urged the commission to require a full Environmental Impact Report rather than accept the mitigated negative declaration, citing neighborhood health burdens, prior soil contamination testing that found PCE, and concerns that nighttime deliveries and backup alarms would disturb sleep and increase diesel-exhaust exposure. Labor representatives and the applicant’s team argued the project would clean up and modernize an aging site and provide local jobs; the applicant (Matthew Biggs, Triple H Properties) noted a signed agreement with SAFER and said the project had been revised to mitigate community impacts.

Commissioners debated whether to continue the hearing to obtain a new sound study and revise the site plan. A motion to continue for an updated acoustic study and reconfigured site plan failed. The developer then offered to limit nighttime operations to half of the city-modeled maximum; the applicant said it would accept three trucks per building per hour between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. (down from the six-per-building-per-hour used for the staff noise model). The commission approved the project with that 50% reduction in overnight truck operations and the staff-recommended conditions. Commissioners Theanis and Palmer voted no; Commissioner McGee was absent.

The Planning Commission’s action is final unless appealed to City Council within 10 calendar days. The city’s written conditions incorporate noise, lighting, truck-circulation and landscaping requirements that staff said will be enforced through permits and code enforcement, with potential follow-up if violations occur.