Riverside County is asking residents to weigh in on where heavy trucks should and shouldn't drive, and the Temecula Valley is part of the plan.

The county's Planning Department issued a Notice of Preparation on Oct. 29 for a focused Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on a proposed Countywide Truck Route System. The system would formally designate truck routes across 14 county area plans, including the Southwest Area Plan, which covers unincorporated areas near Temecula.

The county has a 30-day window for public comments, starting from the date the notice was received.

What the project does

The truck route system responds to Assembly Bill 98, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 29, 2024, and amended by Senate Bill 415 on Oct. 3, 2025. The state laws set standards for warehouse and logistics development, including truck traffic, site design and land-use compatibility.

AB 98 requires counties to designate truck routes that minimize air quality, noise and lighting impacts on sensitive receptors. Under state law, sensitive receptors include homes, schools, daycare facilities, parks, playgrounds, nursing homes and hospitals.

Riverside County does not have an existing truck route plan, according to the county's Initial Study. The county uses Ordinance No. 500, which specifies weight limits and roads not suitable for trucks.

No new roads would be built. All roadways proposed as truck routes are already constructed and open to traffic, according to the Initial Study. The only physical change would be new signage.

Three-tier system

The county developed a three-tier truck route network. Tier 1 covers state highways and interstates. Tier 2 covers arterial and collector streets. Tier 3 covers other transportation arteries, where the law requires trucks to be routed on roads that minimize exposure to sensitive receptors.

"Trucks" under the plan means heavy-duty class 7 or 8 vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds, according to the Initial Study. Semi-trucks and garbage trucks fall into that category.

What the EIR will study

The forthcoming EIR will analyze six areas where the county identified potentially significant environmental impacts: air quality, energy, greenhouse gas emissions, land use and planning, noise and transportation.

How to comment

A public scoping meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 9 a.m. at the Riverside County Planning Department, 4080 Lemon Street in Riverside. The Notice of Preparation lists the meeting on the 12th floor. The county's Planning Commission held a separate workshop on the truck route system on June 3.

The scoping meeting is not a public hearing, and no decision on the project will be made, according to the notice.

Residents who want to participate remotely should contact TLMA Commission Secretary Monique Cornejo-Henish at (951) 955-7436 or [email protected] at least 24 hours before the meeting.

Written comments can be mailed to Planning Director John Hildebrand at the Riverside County Planning Department, P.O. Box 1409, Riverside, CA 92502-1409, or emailed to [email protected].