Former coach fights to protect Live Oak Canyon from proposed warehouse project

David Matuszak steers his white Toyota Tacoma truck up a gravel road past his house. He parks on a hill overlooking his beloved Live Oak Canyon.

“How’s it going – it’s been a while,” Matuszak says, shaking hands.

Matuszak is familiar because for 39 years he assisted former coach Jeff Stout with the powerhouse Yucaipa High baseball program. But baseball is not what is on Matuszak’s mind, though he wears a blue-and-gold Thunderbird ballcap.   

There is a push by Yucaipa city officials to build a fulfillment center in Live Oak Canyon not far from where Matuszak lives. Detractors of the giant warehouse project say it will cause air pollution and traffic congestion, destroy green areas, raise temperatures with its urban heat-island effect, and will be an eyesore.

“Bringing these Amazon-like warehouses into Live Oak Canyon would be sacrilegious,” said Matuszak, the president of Friends of Live Oak Canyon. “It’s not fit for the environment or the lifestyle. There are already traffic issues with the pumpkin patch. The warehouse would not just bring trucks, but the employees’ cars too.”  

The controversial project is not a done deal. It still must be approved at a city council meeting on Monday, Sept. 23.

“Redlands, Highland and San Bernardino used to be farmland and now the air quality is among the worst in the country,” Matuszak said. “They’ve built one of these warehouses off the Cherry Valley exit and it’s an eyesore.”