San Diego County Picks Housing Over Wildfire Safety

The San Diego County Planning Commission approved a controversial development that some neighbors say could trap residents in the event of a fire, reports Drew Sitton in the Times of San Diego.

The Harmony Grove Village South project received approval in 2018, but its progress was blocked by litigation from the Sierra Club and local stakeholders who claimed the project did not conduct a full CEQA review. Its approval was rescinded in 2022. “However, a state appellate court then found all but one aspect of the project complied with CEQA.”

The main complaint stems from the community’s plan to only include one road for ingress and egress, which could trap residents in the event of a fire. “In the 2014 Cocos Fire, which destroyed 30 homes in Harmony Grove, that 1.5 mile road to Escondido was gridlocked for more than an hour during the evacuation.”

Some also argue the development would not contribute to local affordability. “Current residents of Harmony Grove noted that living in the car-dependent area will still be pricey, even for those in the designated affordable housing. Many are not able to get fire insurance outside of the notoriously expensive California FAIR Plan due to being in a CAL FIRE mapped high-risk fire zone.”