Visalia industrial annexation continues despite legal action

The planned annexation of 80 acres in the Visalia Industrial Park is moving forward despite the threat of a union lawsuit.

The Visalia City Council in May approved the incorporation, which would allow the construction of nearly 1 million square feet of buildings at the southwest corner of Shirk Street and Riggin Avenue in the northwest part of the city. The project is proposed by Los Angeles-based YS Industries, which already owns three large industrial buildings along Riggin Avenue.

The union wants to prevent any approvals for the project, but the city of Visalia appears ready to defend its decision at a hearing on Wednesday.

The Tulare County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) agency has scheduled this item for its July 10 meeting. A LAFCO staff report on the project states, “The City of Visalia received a notice of intent to file a CEQA challenge for this annexation from Lozeau/Drury LLP on June 12, 2024. This does not preclude LAFCO from taking action in this case. Public Resources Code section 21167.3(b) requires appropriate agencies to presume that an EIR or negative declaration complies with CEQA even if a challenge is filed.”

The City approved the project based on a Mitigated Negative Declaration, meaning that a full environmental study was not required and that the General Plan already covers development in the industrial area where this project is proposed. The project calls for existing industrial development to the north along Riggin Avenue, with existing development to the west and south of the site and with Shirk Street to the east. The site was the site of a former dairy that was relocated away from the city’s development pathways.

YS Industries representative Freddie Molina said he was “surprised” by the union’s action and hoped for dialogue.

The notice comes from Laborers International Union of North America, Local Union 294 (LIUNA) and Eddie Armando Torres. In court documents, they are asking for a temporary restraining order against the city’s approval of the project and to overturn its previous decision.

A 12-page letter from attorneys at the Golden State Environmental Justice Alliance, based in Corona, California, states: “An environmental impact report must be prepared for the project that accurately represents the entire operation without breaking the project up into separate, smaller development projects to represent unreasonably small environmental impacts.”

The same company filed a lawsuit in Fresno on March 1 against a $100 million industrial project there.

The Carpenters Union also sent a letter in support of a full EIR.

The city believes it has properly followed CEQA rules. The City Council approved the project 4-1, with Councilmember Emmanuel Soto agreeing that the project should have its own environmental impact study.

The LAFCO’s draft approval states that the planned incorporation is compatible with the city’s general plan and that there is “a mutual social and economic interest between the residents of the city and the proposed incorporation area.”

As of the deadline, City Manager Leslie Caviglia stated that, to her knowledge, the union had indeed filed its lawsuit in Tulare County Superior Court.