Case File · Redlands, San Bernardino County, CA
Rejected. Resubmitted smaller. Approved on the second try.
Tennessee Street, Redlands, San Bernardino County, CA — Prologis 193,469 SF distribution warehouse. A first application failed on truck traffic and kindergarten proximity. A materially smaller revision cleared Planning Commission in June 2024. Three months later, California passed AB 98.
Cited site read: 68/100 — approved, but marginal. The Inland Empire warehouse approval window is closing.
193,469 SF
Size
revised
~2% larger
Original Proposal
+ cold storage
39 ft
Height
1 ft shorter
~275 ft
School Distance
from kindergarten
Jun 24 2024
Approval Date
Planning Commission
Sep 2024
AB 98
Passed after
Redlands, California
A marginal approval in a closing window.
Prior Application
Original Prologis application rejected
Prologis's first Tennessee Street proposal was rejected on truck traffic and kindergarten proximity grounds. The building was roughly 2% larger, approximately 1 foot taller, and included a cold-storage component that would have meaningfully increased diesel truck volume past a kindergarten at ~275 feet.
2024
Revised plan submitted
Prologis returned with a smaller, quieter design: 193,469 SF (roughly 2% smaller), 39 ft (1 foot shorter), no cold storage, and a proposed truck circulation pattern routing vehicles into Tennessee Street and out via Kansas Street. Material concessions rather than cosmetic tweaks.
Jun 24, 2024
Planning Commission approves revised plan
The Redlands Planning Commission approved the revised distribution warehouse with truck circulation restrictions baked in as conditions. Opposition from Community Forward Redlands narrowed but did not disappear — residual concerns about kindergarten adjacency and truck volume remained on the record.
Sep 2024
California AB 98 signed into law
AB 98 establishes statewide warehouse setback rules, tightened environmental review, and residential buffer requirements for new logistics projects. Projects approved before AB 98's effective date sit in a different regulatory universe than projects applying after it.
Oct 2025
SB 415 strengthens warehouse setbacks
SB 415 extends and strengthens AB 98's framework. Combined with municipal moratoriums in Pomona and Fontana and the San Bernardino Superior Court overturning a separate Bloomington warehouse approval, the Inland Empire approval environment has materially shifted since June 2024.
The Concession
Material, not cosmetic
The revise-and-resubmit strategy worked because the concessions were substantive: ~2% footprint reduction, 1 ft height reduction, complete removal of cold storage, and an enforced truck circulation pattern. Cosmetic revisions to a site with kindergarten adjacency would not have cleared the Commission.
The Sensitive Receptor
~275 ft kindergarten
A kindergarten approximately 275 feet from the site was the organizing principle for Community Forward Redlands's opposition. Diesel truck volume past a school anchored both the opposition narrative and the Planning Commission's earlier rejection. Cold-storage removal was the single most important design change.
The Condition
Truck circulation
The Commission conditioned approval on a specified truck circulation pattern — enter Tennessee Street, exit Kansas Street — designed to reduce exposure to the kindergarten. The condition is enforceable through the entitlement and will follow the site for operators and tenants for the life of the building.
The Regulatory Wave
AB 98 + SB 415
California AB 98 (Sep 2024) established statewide warehouse setback rules and strengthened environmental review. SB 415 (Oct 2025) strengthened setbacks further. Moratoriums in Pomona and Fontana and the San Bernardino Superior Court's Bloomington warehouse reversal underline that the IE approval window is narrowing fast.
Key Decision Makers & Stakeholders
The parties that shaped the outcome.
Redlands Planning Commission
Municipal Land Use Body
Redlands, California
Documented Record
Approved revised plan June 2024 after prior rejection. Conditions: enter Tennessee Street, exit Kansas Street truck circulation. No cold storage (which would have increased truck volume).
The Commission's mixed stance reflects the two-step arc of this site. The earlier rejection was not theatrical — it produced a genuinely different project. Conditioning approval on truck circulation and cold-storage removal is the Commission using its discretionary authority the way the Redlands code intends.
Community Forward Redlands
Grassroots Opposition
Redlands, California
Documented Record
Grassroots group focused on kindergarten proximity (~275 ft) and diesel truck traffic. Opposed original application; narrow opposition to revised plan on residual concerns.
Community Forward Redlands's narrow but durable opposition is the template for Inland Empire warehouse politics. Even after material concessions, residents near sensitive receptors do not sign off — they register residual concerns on the record. Applicants should expect the same posture on comparable sites.
Prologis Development Team
Applicant
San Francisco, CA / National
Documented Record
Resubmitted 2% smaller, 1 ft shorter, cold storage removed, truck circulation restricted. Revise-and-resubmit strategy unlocked approval.
Prologis's resubmittal is a useful reference for any applicant facing a school- or residential-proximity denial. The concessions were material enough to change the substance of the project — size, height, use mix, and operations — not cosmetic enough to reproduce the prior application in different packaging.
California Legislature — AB 98
State Legislative Authority
Sacramento, California
Documented Record
AB 98 (signed September 2024) establishes statewide warehouse setback rules and strengthens environmental review for new logistics projects.
AB 98 passed approximately three months after this approval. For screening purposes, that gap matters: sites that entitled before AB 98 are grandfathered under municipal rules, while comparable applications filed today face statewide setback minimums and additional CEQA scrutiny.
California Legislature — SB 415
State Legislative Authority
Sacramento, California
Documented Record
SB 415 (October 2025) strengthened AB 98's warehouse setback framework and extended residential buffer requirements across jurisdictions.
SB 415 is the second leg of the statewide warehouse reform. Read together with AB 98 and the municipal moratoriums in Pomona and Fontana, California has shifted warehouse siting from a local discretionary question to a state-level structural regime.
San Bernardino Superior Court
California Trial Court
San Bernardino County, California
Documented Record
Overturned a separate warehouse approval in Bloomington, CA, reinforcing judicial scrutiny on CEQA review and residential-proximity findings in the Inland Empire.
The Bloomington reversal is the litigation-risk companion to AB 98. Even where a Planning Commission approves, CEQA challenges are landing in front of judges willing to unwind approvals with insufficient environmental analysis. This is now a screening factor, not an edge case.
“How much of this approval is replicable today — and how much is a grandfathered artifact?”
Two Scores, One Site
The difference between rejection and marginal approval.
The same parcel, the same applicant, the same opposition. Two scored outcomes separated by a 2% footprint reduction, a 1 ft height reduction, and the removal of cold storage.
Original Application
Larger footprint, cold-storage component, kindergarten adjacency drove opposition. Prior Planning Commission rejection was predictable — truck traffic plus a sensitive-receptor school ~275 feet away was the combination Redlands residents would not accept on the first pass.
Post-Revision Approval
Amber score reflects that approval is genuine but marginal. A 2% size reduction, cold-storage removal, and truck-circulation restrictions unlocked approval. But post-AB 98 and SB 415, comparable sites now face stricter statewide rules. This approval predates full reform and may not be replicable going forward.
The Pre-Filing Research
What RealClear finds on Tennessee Street.
Before an application is filed. Before a Planning Commission rejection is on the record. Before the regulatory horizon narrows further.
Site Analysis
Prologis Distribution Warehouse
Tennessee Street, Redlands, San Bernardino County, CA
Zoning Classification
Approval Pathway
Residential Proximity
Regulatory Horizon
Precedent Flag
Original Prologis application rejected on truck traffic and kindergarten proximity grounds. Revised plan (2% smaller, 1 ft shorter, no cold storage, restricted truck circulation) approved June 24, 2024. California AB 98 codified statewide warehouse setback requirements two months later.
Applicant Strategy
The revise-and-resubmit pattern worked here because concessions were material: footprint reduction, cold-storage removal, and a truck-circulation condition that routed trucks into Tennessee Street and out via Kansas Street. Cosmetic revisions would have failed.
Recommendation
MARGINAL. Proceed only with material concessions to kindergarten-adjacency concerns. Post-AB 98 environment requires proactive compliance — this approval predates full reform and may not be replicable on comparable sites today.
The Decision Framework
Three questions before you screen an Inland Empire warehouse site.
The Prologis Redlands approval is a useful template — but only if you read it against the regulatory wave that landed after it.
If screening Inland Empire warehouse sites
AB 98 (2024) and SB 415 (2025) now establish statewide warehouse setback rules. Legacy sites approved pre-reform are grandfathered; new applications face stricter environmental review and residential buffers. Screen for vintage of approval and applicability of the current statewide regime, not just local zoning.
If facing school or residential proximity opposition
Revise-and-resubmit is the established pattern. Prologis Redlands succeeded by reducing footprint 2%, eliminating cold storage, and restricting truck circulation. Minor dimensional concessions plus operational commitments unlock approval. Cosmetic revisions do not.
Pattern — the IE warehouse approval window is closing
AB 98 passed September 2024. SB 415 strengthened October 2025. $98B+ in blocked or delayed industrial. San Bernardino Superior Court overturning a separate Bloomington warehouse approval. Moratoriums in Pomona and Fontana. Screen for whether your site and timeline predate the reform wave or land in it.
The lesson from Tennessee Street:
Approval is not binary, and it is not permanent. Prologis Redlands is a genuine win, but read against AB 98 and SB 415 it is also a regulatory artifact. The same parcel, applied for today, would sit inside a tighter state framework. Screen the approval vintage, not just the site.
Know where your site sits in the reform wave before you file.
Cited Brief
How RealClear built this assessment.
This source review is backed by a traceable source trail — real articles, real officials, real patterns.
News records reviewed
Officials identified
Comparable approvals reviewed
Opposition groups in record
Event Timeline
Key milestones in the entitlement journey
Prior
Original Prologis application rejected on truck traffic and kindergarten-proximity grounds
2024
Prologis resubmits a revised plan — ~2% smaller, 1 ft shorter, no cold storage, truck circulation restricted
Jun 24, 2024
Redlands Planning Commission approves the revised 193,469 SF distribution warehouse
Sep 2024
California AB 98 signed into law — statewide warehouse setback rules take effect
Oct 2025
California SB 415 strengthens warehouse setbacks; Bloomington warehouse approval overturned in San Bernardino Superior Court
Prior
Original Prologis application rejected on truck traffic and kindergarten-proximity grounds
2024
Prologis resubmits a revised plan — ~2% smaller, 1 ft shorter, no cold storage, truck circulation restricted
Jun 24, 2024
Redlands Planning Commission approves the revised 193,469 SF distribution warehouse
Sep 2024
California AB 98 signed into law — statewide warehouse setback rules take effect
Oct 2025
California SB 415 strengthens warehouse setbacks; Bloomington warehouse approval overturned in San Bernardino Superior Court
Key Actors
Decision-makers and their positions
Redlands Planning Commission
Municipal Land Use Body
Rejected the original application, then approved the revised plan with enforceable conditions on truck circulation and cold-storage exclusion
Community Forward Redlands
Grassroots Opposition
Anchored opposition on a kindergarten ~275 ft from the site; narrowed but did not withdraw objections after material concessions
Prologis
Applicant / National Industrial REIT
Executed a textbook revise-and-resubmit — material reductions in size, height, and use mix, plus an enforceable truck circulation pattern
Opposition Record
Organized opposition groups
Community Forward Redlands
Local grassroots organization
Tactics
Public comment, Planning Commission testimony, coordinated messaging on kindergarten proximity and diesel truck volume
Track Record
Helped secure the original rejection; narrowed opposition on the revised plan but left residual concerns on the record
Risk Triggers
What activates opposition
- Truck traffic past sensitive receptors
- School and childcare proximity (~275 ft kindergarten)
- Cold-storage uses that increase diesel volume
Potential Allies
Groups that may support the project
California Legislature (AB 98 / SB 415)
State Legislature
Establishes statewide warehouse setback and environmental review baselines that reset the Inland Empire approval landscape post-2024
Jurisdiction Pattern
What history tells us about this jurisdiction
Approval history
Approved on resubmittal after prior rejection; Inland Empire jurisdictions increasingly constrained by AB 98 and SB 415
Recent Shifts
Statewide warehouse reform (AB 98 Sep 2024; SB 415 Oct 2025), municipal moratoriums in Pomona and Fontana, and the Bloomington warehouse reversal in San Bernardino Superior Court
Source read
Score: 68/100 (amber). A genuine approval, but marginal and partly a regulatory artifact. The concessions that unlocked approval — 2% smaller footprint, 1 ft height reduction, cold-storage removal, truck circulation restrictions — are a useful template. But comparable sites today face a materially tighter statewide regime than Tennessee Street did in June 2024.
Cited research compiled from Redlands Planning Commission proceedings, Community Forward Redlands reporting, Prologis Inland Empire coverage, CalMatters AB 98 and warehouse-retreat reporting, and San Bernardino Superior Court filings
Score: 68/100 (amber)
Score: 68/100 (amber). A genuine approval, but marginal and partly a regulatory artifact. The concessions that unlocked approval — 2% smaller footprint, 1 ft height reduction, cold-storage removal, truck circulation restrictions — are a useful template. But comparable sites today face a materially tighter statewide regime than Tennessee Street did in June 2024. Cited research compiled from Redlands Planning Commission proceedings, Community Forward Redlands reporting, Prologis Inland Empire coverage, CalMatters AB 98 and warehouse-retreat reporting, and San Bernardino Superior Court filings
Theme distribution
How this was assembled: Every source record ties to a public source you can verify yourself — news coverage, hearing records, court filings, public testimony. No scraped gated platforms, no invented engagement numbers, no attributions that aren’t on the page. RealClear surfaces source records; your team decides. See our methodology for the full sourcing standard.
Primary Source Documents
6 DocumentsEvery finding cited to the source. Click any document to preview it directly. Source-record patterns visible to experienced entitlement analysts months before the hearing.
Screen the Reform Wave, Not Just the Site
California is rewriting warehouse approvals around you.
RealClear runs a full entitlement risk analysis — zoning, approval pathway, community opposition, regulatory horizon, and comparable outcomes — fully analyzed. Before any attorney is billed. Before any filing fee is paid.
Cited research summary · Not legal advice · Verify independently before making investment decisions