Moreno Valley — The City Council on Oct. 7 certified a final environmental impact report and approved amendments to the General Plan and Specific Plan plus a plot plan to allow a 220,390‑square‑foot light industrial building on about 9.96 acres at the southeast corner of Heacock Street and Ironwood Avenue, voting unanimously, 5‑0.

The project, described in staff materials as Building 5 in the Moreno Valley Business Park, would be a single‑story light industrial building with a mezzanine and a maximum height the applicant said is roughly 39 feet. The developer revised the site plan to place loading docks on the east side, screen truck activity from public view, and set the building back between about 71 and 77 feet from public streets with an additional 20‑foot landscape buffer.

“The item before you includes requests for a General Plan Amendment, Specific Plan Amendment and plot plan,” Community Development Director Angelica Frosolupo told the council during the staff presentation. The staff report summarized the project history, including a 2021 approval that a court later set aside and the decision to prepare a full environmental impact report in response to the court’s writ of mandate.

Why it matters: The council’s action completes a years‑long process that began with earlier approvals in 2021, litigation that found the prior mitigated negative declaration inadequate, and a new EIR circulated in 2025. If this approval stands, the site — long vacant after decades of underused Festival site buildings — will be redeveloped and could anchor remaining retail and service tenants in the surrounding district.

Developer Ryan Martin of Lido Capital Group said the project is intended to complement the existing Festival district redevelopment. “This is the last piece of the puzzle,” Martin said during the applicant presentation, noting that prior phases brought tenants such as Sprouts and floor & decor and that the finished business park makes the retail more viable. He also told council members the site has less truck traffic than some retail uses would generate.

The project’s legal history was a focus in staff and council discussion. Frosolupo summarized the procedural timeline: the 2021 approvals and mitigated negative declaration were rescinded after a petition to court; the city responded by preparing and circulating a draft EIR and later a final EIR with mitigation and a mitigation monitoring and reporting program for council certification.

Public comment at the hearing ran strongly in favor of the project from local construction and labor representatives, who said it would create construction jobs and permanent local employment. Juan Serrato of the Laborers International Union urged the council to move the project forward for the jobs it would create. Several planning‑ and economic‑development professionals also spoke in support, citing the site’s long vacancy and limited retail potential. Opponents did not make a formal presentation during the park’s public hearing; some residents’ concerns at earlier parts of the meeting focused on other proposed developments in the city (see separate coverage).

Action and outcome: The motion to approve the project as recommended by the Planning Commission passed by a roll call vote of 5‑0 (Council members Bernard, Gonzales, Delgado, Mayor Pro Tem Santa Cruz and Mayor Cabrera all voted yes). The record shows no motion maker or seconder name recorded in the public transcript; the council’s vote and motion language were entered on the record and will be transmitted to the court as required by the writ of mandate.

What’s next: The council directed staff to finalize the implementing documents. The court retains jurisdiction and will receive the city’s certification and associated filings as required by the earlier order.

Provenance: Staff presentation and project description began in the staff report and presentation (Angelica Frosolupo) and the applicant presentation and public hearing concluded with the council’s vote. Evidence spans the staff report and the motion to approve.