Santee approves warehouse distribution center at drive-in-theater site, despite community opposition

 By Mike Allen

Image, left:  Aerial rendering of planned new warehouse site

August 29, 2025 (Santee) -- Santee traded a defunct drive-in theater/swap meet for an industrial distribution center with 42 dock bays and the promise of 185 jobs following approvals from the City Council this week.

The fact that the 13.5 acre site at 10990 North Woodside Avenue has been vacant for more than a year made no difference to the dozens of people who showed up to City Hall to oppose the massive warehouse, which developers said will be a “state of the art facility with all the bells and whistles.”

Opponents said the trade isn’t worth all the increased traffic and noise the warehouse will generate. Besides, some said, this was a  really nice, family-friendly place that Santee deserves to have.

“I hate to see parts of Santee being chipped away,” said Steve Ebel, a resident since 1982. “We’ve seen the movie theater go away, the skate rink is gone away, now we’re losing the Santee swap meet.”

While the City Council was sympathetic to the loss of a drive-in that opened in 1958, closing the drive-in wasn’t their decision. That was up to the property owner, who determined the price offered by Los Angeles-based North Palisade Parthers was fair, and the sale closed last year.

Photo, right:  Santee Drive-In and Swapmeet shut down in January 2024, after briefly drawing crowds when it reopened after the pandemic. The drive-in movie theater had been operating since 1958. 

All the City Council did was put conditions on how the 300,000 square foot warehouse will be operated, and how it will be constructed. After hearing complaints about the noise already existing at the industrial zoned area, the Council altered one key mitigating feature. It increased a sound wall along the north side of the project from eight to 10 feet.

The vote to approve the conditional use permit and certify the environmental report was 4-0 with Councilman Dustin Trotter recusing himself because he leases property next to the site.

Stacey LoMedico, a resident of the Hillcreek Road area directly across the San Diego River, said the noise coming from the site is too loud already. “From the west side, the neighborhood has experienced street racing, loud parties and vehicle noise. From the east side we hear metal grinding, truck noise,” she said.

Carl Constantino, who provided a detailed list of objections to the project, summed up his criticism: “This project is just too big--too big for the location, too big in regards to the traffic and noise!”

But those supporting the project also had their say noting its benefits.

Juan Serato, along with several other construction workers attending the meeting, said it would generate lots of high-paying, local union jobs erecting the warehouse and operating it.

Joe Mishurda, the founder and managing partner for North Palisade Partners, said in addition to 185 jobs, the warehouse would provide $1.85 million in developer fees to the city and generate $1.6 million in taxes over 10 years.

Image,left:  Rendering of planned Palisade Commerce Center

Mishurda said a major reason for building the facility was the lack of industrial warehouse space in East County, citing a 3.23 percent vacancy rate, well below the countywide average. NPP is building the project for a yet unnamed tenant that some speculate is either Amazon or Wal-Mart. The facility was said to cost $50 million to create.

As part of its conditions, NPP will pay its share of $476,000 for road improvements to N. Woodside Avenue. It will also pay for an added left hand turn lane into the project. Mishurda also offered to refurbish and move the large Santee Drive-In sign that marked the eastern entrance to Santee to a place deemed appropriate by the city.

The noise issue was the focal point of much of the Council’s discussion. Several speakers reminded the city it granted a permit for a techno music festival last year at the site that blatantly violated noise regulations and went into the early hours of the next day. TheCouncilmembers paid a good deal of attention to all the noise complaints, and told NPP they were doing so because of past failures in this area, notably with Wal-Mart.

As with every new project proposed in Santee, traffic was also a big concern. Mayor John Minto said while the city has limited say in how it can mitigate increased traffic on county land, there is good news in a planned roundabout project for the intersection of State Route 67 and North Woodside. Minto said the city is in the middle of securing funding for the project, which will change the traffic patterns at the site.

Councilman Rob McNelis heaped effusive praise on the warehouse’s front exterior, saying the designers “did a bang-up job” that looked beautiful. As to the wall that increased in height by two feet, McNelis said it will help mitigate the sounds from the building’s operations, but will not completely eliminate it. He also asked that the north walls of the warehouse be covered with faux ivy so the warehouse blended in more with the surrounding vegetation, and look nicer. He specified not using real ivy “because the ‘facade’ stuff stays forever. It doesn’t die.”