Controversial warehouse ballot measure on pause as American Canyon looks at impact

A controversial American Canyon ballot measure that would effectively circumvent local governing bodies when approving commercial warehouses is on pause while its potential impact is studied.

City Council members recently asked for more information before they would approve the voter-led ballot initiative.

Supporters of the measure gathered enough signatures — they needed 1,323 — for the City Council to either pass it into law or put it on a future election ballot for voters to decide.

The council is set to make a decision March 5.

But before then, on Feb. 6, the council members asked staff to prepare a report on the various impacts of the measure, which must be accomplished within 30 days.

City staff will examine what effects the measure, which would create an automatic permitting process for warehouses that meet certain environmental and energy standards, would have related to city revenue, housing availability, agricultural land and more.

“You are not authorized to deny the measure, you have to take one of the three actions before you,” city attorney William Ross told the council. “Staff’s concerns about the very subjects that I just went through are legitimate.”

Sacramento-based developer Buzz Oates is backing the measure. That’s the company behind the Giovanni Logistics Center project — a development that would include 2.4 million square feet of warehouse space — approved last year by the City Council.

The project has stalled after being challenged in court by environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity.

Public feedback on the measure at the Feb. 6 meeting varied, though speakers generally encouraged the city to move forward with studying it.

Joe Livaich, vice president of planning and preconstruction services at Buzz Oates — said the company encouraged the city’s report.

“I think what you’ll find is this measure will apply really to one major property in the city, and that's the one we’ve been trying to develop for the last number of years,” he said.

Frances Tinney, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, said the measure would undo some environmental policy progress the city has already made.

There’s a few reasons the measure is dangerous, she said, including environmental impacts from warehouse projects and eliminating the opportunity for public input.

“The initiative would effectively hand developers a blank check to build warehouses in American Canyon without the risk, time or expense of environmental compliance,” Tinney said.

Barry Christian, an American Canyon resident, said he agreed with the choice to study the measure because he didn’t understand its consequences.

“I don’t have enough information,” he said.

The council unanimously voted to pursue studying the measure.

Council member Pierre Washington said studying the measure will give the council, staff and residents needed knowledge about the measure.

“We’ll get educated, we’ll understand what the consequences are or if there are any,” he said. “And I believe that we’ll get answers to questions like, ‘what properties are applicable in this,’ or ‘what does this project mean moving forward for our city.’”

You can reach Staff Writer Edward Booth at 707-521-5281 or edward.booth@pressdemocrat.com.