OCEANSIDE — A City Council majority unexpectedly approved the controversial Eddie Jones warehouse project last week, reversing its previous denial of the project in the spring.
The City Council denied a permit for the controversial project in a narrow 3-2 vote in May, and was set to confirm that decision in a consent agenda item on Aug. 6. However, the project developer came forward with additional changes to the project, including another proposed reduction of truck bays from 34 to 28, plus an offer to contribute $2.5 million for the City Council to spend on park and capital improvement projects around the city.
Jimmy Figueroa was the sole councilmember to change his previous vote from May 21 after hearing the new concessions. He also favored the project after developer and applicant Adam Robinson, founder and president of RPG, estimated that the project would bring on approximately 1,200 jobs during construction and an estimated 500 permanent jobs once the project was completed and had tenants secured.
Robinson added that the warehouse is a light industrial project designed to attract more higher tech and manufacturing jobs to the area.
“At its core, this project is more than just real estate – it’s about job creation, economic opportunity, and responsible reinvestment in our built environment,” Robinson said.
Figueroa noted that the city currently falls behind neighboring Vista and Carlsbad in its jobs-to-housing ratio. He also acknowledged that the project is not a “distribution site,” as many opponents have suggested.
“The community benefits that the developer is willing to offer really gives us the opportunity to address some of the capital improvement projects list that have gone unfunded,” Figueroa said.
Figueroa suggested the $2.5 million in community improvement money be used to install lighting at the neighboring Prince Skatepark and the Melba Bishop Skatepark and pickleball courts, as well as a feasibility study to add bathrooms at Fireside Park.
In the end, Figueroa and councilmembers Rick Robinson and Peter Weiss approved the project, while Mayor Esther Sanchez and Deputy Mayor Eric Joyce remained opposed. The item was originally included on the consent calendar list, but was pulled for public discussion.
“We don’t sacrifice one community for another,” Sanchez said in response to Figueroa’s suggestions for where the money could be used.
Joyce also took issue with deciding on where the funding should be used at the time. However, Figueroa’s suggestions were ultimately incorporated into the final vote.
Residents in the nearby community, as well as the Prince of Peace Abbey, have remained largely opposed to the project for years. Some disgruntled outbursts from the crowd interrupted the council’s discussion on the final vote.
Gretchen Gary, a neighbor who previously appealed the project on behalf of the community, said opponents were caught off guard by the reversal, adding that the developer “had a clear advantage.”
“If we had known they were secretly trying to influence Figueroa in the months since the May 21 vote, we would have been more proactive to remind him of the proven human health risk of the air pollution levels noted in the developer’s own Environmental Impact Report and reinforce the message that community health and wellbeing should be a top priority when considering these kinds of projects for approval,” Gary said via email.
Gary said neighbors were shocked to see the $2.5 million contribution.
“We have done some preliminary research which says it is improper for City Council members to accept funds like this without a formal contract, without a public hearing and/or without negotiations from community groups,” she added.
Residents have also hammered against approval of the environmental impact report, suggesting it opens up the possibility for future tenants to increase the number of truck bays up to the originally-proposed 114 figure that the environmental impact report analyzed.
Development Services Director Darlene Nicandro said the applicant would need to return before the City Council with a conditional use permit request to increase the number of truck bays if desired.
