A 9.5-acre stretch of Almond Avenue that has spent years as a rock quarry and then a contractor's yard with large concrete equipment is about to become a structured storage lot for trucks, trailers and cars. The Fontana Planning Commission voted 5-0 at its most recent meeting to approve the project, clearing the way for 289 total parking spaces at 9910 Almond Avenue, including 250 spots for trucks and trailers and 39 for regular automobiles.
The vote, first reported by Fontana Herald News, covered a conditional use permit and administrative site plan for the property. Associate planner Alejandro Rico described the application in those terms during the hearing, according to the outlet's report.
The parcel covers about 9.5 acres. Applicant Matt Englhard told the commission, per the Herald News report, that he has no specific tenant lined up yet, but that his company is building the site for a precast concrete company next door — a company that plans to either use the spaces for its own fleet or lease them out.
The Site's Current Use
The Almond Avenue site is currently a contractor's yard awaiting redevelopment.
The neighboring business associated with the project is Jensen Precast, a concrete manufacturer Englhard said may use the spaces for its fleet or lease them out. Jensen Precast operates a facility at 14221 San Bernardino Avenue in Fontana, according to the Fontana Chamber of Commerce. The proposed lot would sit next to its plant.
Rules Meant to Keep It From Becoming a Truck Stop
Conditional use permit conditions attached to the approval are specifically designed to prevent the lot from turning into an overnight trucking hub, per the Herald News. Truck drivers are barred from staying overnight on the property, and materials cannot be stored within the trucks themselves. Once finished, the site will be enclosed by a 14-foot-tall screen wall and will include a 1,558-square-foot office building.
Landscaping will cover 62,826 square feet of the property, about 18.5% of the total site area — just above the 15 percent minimum required under city rules, which works out to 61,748 square feet. Planning commission staff also recommended adoption of an addendum and mitigation monitoring and reporting program tied to the Southwest Industrial Park Specific Plan's environmental impact report, which falls under the California Environmental Quality Act.
The Southwest Industrial Park Specific Plan
The Southwest Industrial Park Specific Plan covers an area in Fontana.
The approval also lands amid tightening state and regional rules on truck-heavy industrial sites. Under South Coast Air Quality Management District Rule 2305, adopted in May 2021, the rule applies to owners and operators of warehouses in the district with at least 100,000 square feet of indoor floor space in a single building, according to South Coast AQMD.
Fontana has faced scrutiny over industrial buildout before. California Attorney General Rob Bonta reached a legal settlement with the city in April 2022 requiring stricter environmental standards and mitigation measures on industrial developments, as Hoodline previously reported. That backdrop of regulatory pressure continues to shape how projects like the Almond Avenue storage lot move through the approval pipeline, even as the commission — currently meeting at the Steelworker's Auditorium while City Hall undergoes an expansion from 27,000 to 45,000 square feet — unanimously approved this project, 5-0.
