SANTEE, Calif. — Despite the Santee City council giving the green light to the Fanita Ranch project a couple years ago for 3,000 new homes, a Superior Court judge, just ruled the Santee council needs to take back its project approval due to a high wildfire concern of lack of accessible evacuation routes.
"3,000 homes is just, I think way too much for all at one time,” said lifelong Santee resident Mike Leathers.
Leathers says many residents have been against the Fanita Ranch development for years, citing a fire hazard and traffic concerns.
"Right now, it is a beautiful mountain bike trail that I ride on a weekly basis and really enjoy, and I grew up on those hills here as a kid, and I'd hate to see it go away,” said Leathers.
A Superior Court judge ordered the City of Santee to take back its approval of the long-planned Fanita Ranch housing project.
The judge listed safety concerns that the plan didn't fully address how thousands of new residents would evacuate in an emergency.
"Evacuation and wildfire safety is a huge concern here. It's really a case of the worst kind of unsustainable sprawl development that paves over habitats for unique and sensitive species and places the surrounding communities at risk,” said Senior attorney Peter Broderick for the Center for Biological Diversity.
Broderick represented a collection of environmental organizations opposed to Fanita Project says the City of Santee failed to disclose the fire safety risks in an area the state designated as having the highest level of fire severity.
“It was the right decision by the court, and we've been saying all along that this project will have significant risks, and a developer should not hide that from the community,” Broderick said.
In a statement from the Mayor of Santee John Minto said:
"Santee's next council meeting is tomorrow night (April 13), starting at 6:30 p.m. We are scheduled to get a briefing from the City Attorney at that time. I haven't had an opportunity to see the details of the judge's decision. Therefore, it is difficult to make a comment on it.
I can say that contrary to some reports, the city did not violate any laws. The Fanita Ranch development is a land use issue. As with any hearing, the decision has an appeal process.
The council will confer with the City Attorney and comply with the order of the court. We can also make other changes necessary."
Fanita Ranch developers HomeFed Corporation based in Carlsbad, say their project is not dead and will be revised.
“We are revising the evacuation modelling plan and will submit it to the court after it has been recirculated for public review," said Jeff O’Connor, Vice President of Community Development for HomeFed Corporation. "We are hopeful that Judge Bacal reviews and approves our revised plan. If she does, we will then ask the Santee City Council to consider re-approving Fanita Ranch.”
O’Connor says the revisions are expected to start in May and be presented by July.
The court ruled that the City of Santee has 60 days to rescind project approval. Santee voters will have a chance to weigh in on the project and vote on it in November.
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