An early proposal for a 298,988-square-foot warehouse replacing three commercial buildings in Orange has triggered fierce community opposition, with more than 200 area residents joining a coalition to oppose the project out of what they say is their concern for health and quality of life risks to nearby schools and neighborhoods.
Plans submitted to the city by the locally headquartered Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc. call for the demolition of three existing buildings at 2411 N. Glassell St. to make room for the facility for manufacturing, trucking and warehousing.
- A 12.1-acre site that is the corporate headquarters for scrap metal recycling company SA Recycling on Thursday, November 5, 2026, in Orange. A proposal by Rexford Industrial manufacturing and warehousing would demolish the building at 2411 N. Glassell Street and replace it with a 300,000-square foot warehouse. The plan has triggered community opposition, with residents fearing health and quality of life risks to nearby schools and neighborhoods. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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A 12.1-acre site that is the corporate headquarters for scrap metal recycling company SA Recycling on Thursday, November 5, 2026, in Orange. A proposal by Rexford Industrial manufacturing and warehousing would demolish the building at 2411 N. Glassell Street and replace it with a 300,000-square foot warehouse. The plan has triggered community opposition, with residents fearing health and quality of life risks to nearby schools and neighborhoods. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Rexford Industrial owns the 12.1-acre site currently leased
Rexford Industrial owns the 12.1-acre site currently leased by SA Recycling for its corporate headquarters and scrap metal recycling facility; Rexford Industrial has yet to identify a new tenant for the new building, which is proposed to stand at 45 feet tall, or about four stories.
Most Tuesdays, since June, Rachel Rolnicki has visited City Hall to deliver her thoughts about the redevelopment plans next door to her Orange neighborhood, just yards north of the proposed construction. The site is bordered by residential neighborhoods immediately to the north and east, with local schools such as Fletcher Mandarin Language and GATE Academy a few blocks away.
Rolnicki, 37, the director of government affairs at Rady Children’s Health Orange County and a new mom to an infant daughter, said she bought her Orange home with her husband about two years ago, “once we knew we were expecting a baby girl.”
We have big hopes of building a gazebo
“We have big hopes of building a gazebo and a play area for my daughter in our front yard. But I feel like my hands are tied,” Rolnicki said. “I don’t know if I should invest further in my house, because there might be a building towering over my yard.”
“And just the idea of the constant coming and going of trucks makes us think about the health risks of all that emitting fumes and fuel, what that means to us or kids playing outside,” she said.
Neighbors of 2411, the coalition that includes Rolnicki, has attended nearly every Planning Commission and City Council meeting since residents received flyers in their mailboxes earlier this year from City Hall informing them of the proposal.
Rexford Industrial did not respond to requests for comment.
A project proposal describes a warehouse containing five
A project proposal describes a warehouse containing five truck bays on the southern side of the building with a capacity for 843 daily trips by heavy-duty trucks; but the proposal includes a second option for construction that could include more than 36 truck bays.
“Additional improvements would include landscaping, utility connections, stormwater facilities, and fencing, as well as pavement of parking areas, loading areas, and driveways,” according to city staffers.
Ambiguity regarding the project’s scale has fueled public concern, with community members asking planning commissioners to strike down the proposal or, at least, conduct a full environmental impact report instead of the existing environmental review, required by CEQA, which the coalition is calling “streamlined,” insufficient and based on smaller trucking bay estimates.
The city recognizes the concerns residents have raised
“The city recognizes the concerns residents have raised about the size of this proposed development and its proximity to their homes,” Orange city spokesperson Charlene Cheng said. “Our responsibility is to ensure a thorough, transparent, and fair review that complies with the city’s development standards and state law.”
City officials have prepared a traffic analysis for consideration, with “particular attention” being given to truck routes and conflicts with residential streets, everyday vehicles and pedestrians, Cheng said
She added the project has not been approved and the city is reviewing comments from “residents and regulatory agencies, including the South Coast Air Quality Management District,” which planning commissioners will consider before delivering a decision.
A public hearing with planning commissioners is not
A public hearing with planning commissioners is not anticipated until early next year, city officials said.
But, if the project receives support from commissioners and ultimately the City Council, operations could begin as soon as “in the second quarter of 2027,” according to a project assessment prepared for the city by EPD Solutions, Inc., an environmental consulting and land use planning firm based in Irvine.
Central to the coalition’s concerns is the potential for health risks if a larger-scale project were to be pursued.
The prepared assessment, assuming future operations are 24/7
The prepared assessment, assuming future operations are 24/7 to be conservative in developing a health risk analysis, said the project could hit the South Coast Air Quality Management District’sthreshold for maximum acceptable cancer risk due to toxic air contaminants. The risk assessment recommends that the city require equipment designed to cut air pollution to keep the proposed facility below that threshold.
“I hear what they’re saying — that it’s just the possibility of it,” area resident and social case manager Christina Martinez, 44, said. “But we’re also talking about children.”
“The potential for them is much higher because their bodies are still changing and they’re still developing and all these things. And then I start to think of, you know, we see all these environmental things that are going down in Garden Grove. Let’s not bring it to our city,” Martinez said.
Martinez’s children, ages 5 and 10, attend Fletcher
Martinez’s children, ages 5 and 10, attend Fletcher Elementary, part of the Orange Unified School District. District Superintendent Rachel Monárrez wrote a letter to city officials in September asking that an environmental impact report be conducted.
More than 100 community members have met with members of the City Council, including in October with Mayor Dan Slater, to relay their concerns.
“I mean, the process has to run its course,” Slater said. “I have some major concerns about the project, but we have to let the process work its way through. And there will be plenty of opportunities for neighbors to weigh in through public hearings.”
Rolnicki said the residents are not opposed to development of the property.
“We’re not opposed to making this something better, but we want to be thoughtful, be involved, be included,” Rolnicki said. “And I think that there’s such an opportunity because this site, the whole site itself, is like 12.1 acres. And so if we do it right, we can really build something that’s great for Orange, and we hope that that can happen.”
