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Residents and MAC push state review of Tesla truck-charging hub on Valley Boulevard
Summary
At the March 4 Bloomington MAC meeting, residents and the council raised safety, traffic and outreach concerns about a Tesla-only electric truck charging hub at 18434 Valley Blvd approved through a ministerial process under AB 1236 and AB 970; the chair proposed asking the state for a review.
Paige Gosney, presenting the Valley Boulevard electric vehicle project, told the Bloomington Municipal Advisory Council on March 4 that the site at 18434 Valley Blvd is leased to Tesla as a charging hub for electric semi-trucks and is slated to be built in phases with about 92 chargers by 2027. He said the county reviewed the proposal, found no grounds to deny it, and that state laws AB 1236 and AB 970 allow ministerial approval for EV charging facilities that meet objective standards, which means no environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act was required.
Residents at the meeting and several MAC members pushed back. Xochitl Pedraza said she loves Bloomington’s rural character and warned that large-scale projects and warehouses divide the community and proceed without sufficient resident input. Joaquin said a development that began as a single building was expanded with county encouragement and cited chronic utility problems in South Bloomington, including a Jan. 2 outage that he said damaged appliances. Several commenters raised worries about truck circulation, road access, increased congestion, and lack of early community outreach.
Chair Teresa Escoto expressed “deep concern and frustration” about locating the project near local streets and schools and suggested the MAC draft a letter asking state authorities to review the project and its broader implications for unincorporated communities. The council did not record a formal vote on that proposal during the meeting.
Supporters of the project, as presented by Gosney, emphasized that the hub is intended to support electrifying existing truck traffic rather than introduce new truck routes to Bloomington. Gosney said the county examined health and safety concerns and approved the project according to the ministerial standards cited.
Why this matters: the project’s ministerial approval bypasses CEQA review, limiting local environmental and traffic impact hearings; residents and the MAC said that combination raises questions about local infrastructure capacity and notice to nearby schools and neighborhoods. The MAC is expected to consider next steps, including a possible letter to state officials; the council’s next scheduled meeting is April 1, 2026.
Provenance: Topic introduced in SEG 016; related council-level concern and call for state review occurred in SEG 032.
