IV. Warehouse Siting and Design Considerations The most important consideration when planning a logistics facility is its location. Warehouses located in residential neighborhoods or near other sensitive receptors expose community residents and those using or visiting sensitive receptor sites to the air pollution, noise, traffic, and other environmental impacts they generate. Therefore, placing facilities away from sensitive receptors significantly reduces their environmental and quality of life harms on local communities. The suggested best practices for siting and design of warehouse facilities does not relieve lead agencies’ responsibility under CEQA to conduct a project-specific analysis of the project’s impacts and evaluation of feasible mitigation measures and alternatives; lead agencies’ incorporation of the best practices must be part of the impact, mitigation and alternatives analyses to meet the requirements of CEQA. V. Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Analysis and Mitigation Emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases are often among the most substantial environmental impacts from new warehouse facilities. CEQA compliance demands a proper accounting of the full air quality and greenhouse gas impacts of logistics facilities and adoption of all feasible mitigation of significant impacts. Although efforts by CARB and other authorities to regulate the heavy-duty truck and off-road diesel fleets have made excellent progress in reducing the air quality impacts of logistics facilities, the opportunity remains for local jurisdictions to further mitigate these impacts at the project level.

Warehouse Projects: Best Practices and Mitigation Measures to Comply with the California Environmental Quality Act

…imprudent warehouse development can harm local communities and the environment. Among other pollutants, diesel trucks visiting warehouses emit nitrogen oxide (NOx)—a primary precursor to smog formation and a significant factor in the development of respiratory problems like asthma, bronchitis, and lung irritation—and diesel particulate matter (a subset of fine particular matter that is smaller than 2.5 micrometers)—a contributor to cancer, heart disease, respiratory illnesses, and premature death. Trucks and on-site loading activities can also be loud, bringing disruptive noise levels during 24/7 operation that can cause hearing damage after prolonged exposure. The hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of daily truck and passenger car trips that warehouses generate contribute to traffic jams, deterioration of road surfaces, and traffic accidents.