City Prevails in Lawsuit

MORENO VALLEY>> In a victory for the city, a judge affirmed the Moreno Valley City Council's adoption of voter initiatives approving the World Logistics Center. The initiatives, unanimously adopted by the Moreno Valley City Council last November, collectively contained nearly 50,000 signatures of Moreno Valley voters attesting to the support of the project and the promise of jobs and other significant economic, technological and social benefits for the community. "I am thrilled that Judge Waters affirmed that the city council acted according to state law," said Moreno Valley Mayor Yxstian Gutierrez. "It's another step forward for the WLC project, which will generate an estimated $2.5 billion in economic activity while creating over 30,000 construction and permanent jobs in a variety of skill levels. I am hopeful that the outside interests trying to deny our City's advancement will finally acknowledge that their efforts are without legal standing and are certainly contrary to the will of the people who actually live here and provided thousands of signatures in support of the initiatives." Steve Quintanilla, Interim City Attorney, said plaintiffs argument that the council's approval of the three initiatives made it possible for Highland Fairview to circumvent the California Environmental Quality Act was false. "The fact is the city completed one of the most extensive environmental reviews on any project in the state, containing over 10,000 pages of technical reports and studies," Quintanilla said. "Making claims is easy, proving them is a whole different thing," The 2,610-acre campus of the World Logistics Center will incorporate the highest environmental standards including innovative environmental design, water conservation strategies as well as the use of the cleanest diesel technology available. Additionally, the city and developer Highland Fairview have established a framework in the project development agreement to provide nearly $7 million toward education, training and workforce development to further prepare Moreno Valley residents for the estimated 20,000 jobs that will be created by the operation of the World Logistics Center.