San Diego County
Lawsuits Challenge Unsafe Projects - Courts agree
San Diego County persists in authorizing high intensity development in rural, high fire hazard areas. Courts are overturning these land use decisions given public safety and evacuation concerns.
SAN DIEGO— The most recent proposed development is Fanita Ranch in the City of Santee. In 2022, the Superior Court ordered Santee to take back its approval, citing public safety concerns - the inability for current and proposed residents to evacuate safely.
In 2020 and 2021, Conservation organizations sued San Diego County for approving Otay Ranch Resort, a massive sprawl development in the ecologically rich Jamul Mountain region. The County then approved a larger development project in Otay Valley. Together the projects propose over 3,000 housing units on a combined 3,000 acres in the Otay region near a nature preserve.
In two separate letters, the California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the project shouldn’t go forward, citing “critical flaws” in San Diego’s analyses based on, “...the increased risk of wildfire that the Project will create”.
“After the disastrous fires that burned millions of acres in California this year, it’s unconscionable that San Diego County’s outgoing supervisors approved this dangerous project,” said Peter Broderick, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Sprawl development in highly wildfire-prone areas puts everyone at risk. This kind of project increases the chance of a human-ignited blaze that would endanger new residents, nearby communities, first-responders and wildlife.”