Why this matters
The San Diego region is in the middle of a housing and affordability crisis, but in the face of a warming planet where extreme weather is more common, new developments will continue to face environmental scrutiny.
Santee officials have approved a long-fought project that will build nearly 3,000 homes on a large swath of land the state has deemed to have a “very high” fire hazard.
On Wednesday, the City Council voted 3-1 to approve plans by HomeFed to develop Fanita Ranch, 2,600 acres in north Santee. The plan includes 2,949 single-family and multifamily residential lots, commercial space, a school, a fire station, a police station, a park and 1,650 acres of habitat preserve.
Councilmembers said the project would bring much-needed housing to Santee, and that if the city doesn’t approve the project now the state may mandate an even larger and more dense project.
“If you’re within a quarter mile of any transit, for instance, a developer can come in and actually put in up to five-story homes with hundreds of homes in it. And they can do that here in the city of Santee also,” said Mayor John Minto.
Environmental groups previously fought the project in court. They have pointed to 65 fires at the site over the last 100 years — including the 2003 Cedar Fire, which burned 95% of the property.
Cal Fire’s newest fire hazard maps include even more of the property.
The city said the project “provides a comprehensive fire protection system of fire safety features” and “design measures that have proven to perform well in wildland-urban interface and very high fire hazard severity zones.”
A revised environmental report found the property’s additional “high hazard” areas on the new Cal Fire maps are not significant enough to warrant more mitigation measures.
Councilmember Ronn Hall cast the dissenting vote, saying he was not satisfied with the developer’s fire prevention plans. Vice Mayor Rob McNelis recused himself from the vote, citing that he owns property on the footprint of the project.
While some residents who attended the meeting supported the plan, most came to protest the development on account of fire prevention concerns. The crowd cheered loudly after each public comment, reactions which Mayor Minto later said he condoned because he knew the audience felt “passionate” about the issue.
“It’s half baked,” resident Robert Leholm told inewsource about the fire prevention plan. He echoed concerns that the plan doesn’t include enough escape routes to prevent traffic if residents have to evacuate. “It could result in death. What did we just see in Pacific Palisades and Altadena?”
Interim Fire Chief Harley Wallace said the plans were adequate, and that the latest technology allows fire officials to phase evacuation orders. He also said the property will have shelter- in -place options and that the plan was designed to account for 50 mph Santa Ana winds.
The winds in the Los Angeles County fires reached as high as 70 mph.
The city has considered attempts to develop the land several times over the decades. Environmental groups have argued developing the land poses fire hazard risks because of its topography, and would impact habitats recognized as threatened by state officials.
A coalition of environmental groups including Preserve Wild Santee, the Center for Biological Diversity, Endangered Habitats League, and the California Chaparral Institute won a lawsuit in 2024 blocking a previous version of the plan.
A Superior Court judge ruled that the city’s 2022 plan violated California Environmental Quality Act and that it unlawfully bypassed voter approval. Santee’s Measure N, made law in 2020, requires voters to approve projects that would increase residential density beyond the scope of the city’s general plan.
City officials appealed the decision, and meanwhile produced a revised proposal that includes projects they say lawfully waives the need for a vote. One example they cite is a senior citizen housing development which would qualify the project under a state provision for meeting specific housing needs.
Preserve Wild Santee’s director, Van Collinsworth, filed written comments in response to the city’s revised plan.
“Please respect the democratic process and allow the citizens of Santee to make a final vote on the project,” Collinsworth said. “It is residents who should determine Santee’s future — not the speculation and campaign contributions of HomeFed/Jefferies Financial Group of NY.”
During his 2020 reelection bid, Minto received a total of nearly $3,000 in campaign donations from individuals employed by Jefferies and its subsidiary HomeFed. Neither the mayor nor the developers responded to inewsource’s requests for comment.
Collinsworth said new litigation is likely.
Type of Content
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
