California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed SB 415, a follow-up to the landmark warehouse siting and development legislation enacted by the Legislature as AB 98 in 2024. The bill approved by the Legislature earlier this month “incorporates critical fixes to AB 98,” said NAIOP SoCal CEO Timothy Jemal.

Among the clarifications that SB 415 introduces are the following:

• Statewide baseline protections – “Our language makes the law clear: screening walls, landscape buffers and tree planting remain the unwaivable floor,” said Jemal. “Local governments may choose to strengthen those safeguards, but they cannot weaken them for any community.”

• Dock door orientation – fixes AB 98 “to ensure practical site design, including a confirmation that docks and truck circulation should face away from sensitive receptors, but also allow sensible layout options so operations remain efficient without compromising neighborhood quality of life.”

• Protecting the pipeline – “ensuring that AB 98 was never intended to apply to those projects already deep in the entitlement process.”

A coalition including NAIOP SoCal, the Supply Chain Federation, LiUNA, the California Chamber of Commerce and California Business Properties Association negotiated the new provisions. “These negotiated fixes help bring clarity to AB 98 and reduce barriers for the goods movement sector, while preserving community protections,” Jemal said.