Today is last day to submit a map for final consideration at next Council meetings

By Mike Allen

 April 4, 2018 (Santee) -- Like it or not, and all five council members absolutely do not, Santee is adopting a system of district elections in advance of this November.

 Starting in late January, the council has been holding public hearings and soliciting comments about how boundary lines dividing the city into four quadrants should be drawn.

By Mike Allen

January 12, 2018 (Santee)--Smoking or vaping on Santee’s city trails such as the Walker Preserve and near Mast Park will no longer be legal following the City Council’s amending its code at its Jan. 10 meeting.

The newly amended law, that also bans smoking electronic cigarettes in the same areas, takes effect after the second reading of the measure Jan.24.

With the vote, Santee joins the rest of the 18 cities and San Diego county in prohibiting smoking on public trails, which is an obvious fire hazard. But the change didn’t go far enough for nearly all the speakers who testified before the council took its vote.

By Paul Kruze

Link to audio of Santee City Council Meeting, Oct. 25, 2017

November 3, 2017 (Santee) -- Cinemark Theatres won unanimous approval from the Santee City Council Wednesday to operate a multiplex movie theater. The multiplex theater is to be built on a seven-acre parcel purchased last spring from the County of San Diego near the Santee Town Center shopping mall and Parc One apartment complex at 320 Town Center Parkway.

East County News Service

July 17, 2017 (Santee) – In a 5-0 unanimous vote, the Santee City Council has authorized Mayor John Minto to send an official letter from the council to San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore requesting a change in Gore’s internal policy regarding the issuance of concealed weapon permits. Specifically, the council is asking Sheriff Gore to accept self-defense or personal protection to fulfill California’s requirement of “good cause.” 

By Mike Allen

Photo:  Eight finalists in Santee council appointment await questions from council.

January 26, 2017 (Santee) -- Brian Jones, a former state Assemblyman and ex-Santee Councilman, is returning to his old job again. He was appointed by the City Council after a five-hour interview process that began last night and stretched into the early morning hours

East County News Service

Photos, left to right: Stephen Houlahan, Mason Herron, and Dustin Trotter

November 7, 2016 (Santee) — Santee City Council candidate Mason Herron has raked in $58, 246 in campaign contributions from 131 individuals, of whom only 6 live in Santee, including himself.  That’s 95% of donations coming from outside Santee.

By Miriam Raftery

August 23, 2016 (Santee) — Long-time Mayor Randy Voepel is running for the state Assembly and is not seeking reelection.  Two Council members are running to lead the city as Mayor: retired police detective John Minto real estate/mortgage professional Rob McNelis.  A special selection will be held to fill the Council seat of whoever wins the mayoral race, since these terms are not expired.

In addition, three candidates are running for the Council seat being vacated by Jack Dale, who is retiring.  Stephen Houlahan is president and co-founder of Save Mission Trails, which led the successful effort to stop the Quail Brush gas-fired power plant. He is also a registered nurse. Dustin Trotter, a carpenter, owns a door and trim company and has been an active community volunteer in organizations such as the Santee Santas and Santee Food Bank. Mason Herron is legislative director for Assemblyman Brian Jones and has also worked as a policy consultant.

By Miriam Raftery

July 8, 2015 (Santee)—The Santee City Council has voted to raise the Fire Benefit Fee for all commercial and industrial properties to a maximum of $492 per building, per year.  Parcels with multiple buildings will owe the fee for each building. The highest increase faced by any property owner would be $1,800, staff told Council.

“This is really a per building fee,” Councilman Jack Dale observed, “whether you’re 500 square feet or you’re Costco.”

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Ronn Hall

November 5, 2014 (Santee) -- Santee City Council members John Minto and Rob McNelis have won reelection with  26.02% and 22.79% of the vote respectively with 100% of precincts counted.  But the biggest vote getter was Ronn Hall, who drew 27.39% of the vote to fill a vacant seat on the Council. Hall, an insurance broker, is past President and a current board member of the Santee Chamber of Commerce, with strong name recognition in the community.

Challengers Maggie Acerra and Keshav Damoor, who ran on reform platforms, drew 15.44% and 8.32% of the vote.

Unlike some local cities that are built out, Santee weathered tough economic times with a sound budget due in part to new development including a sports complex that created new property tax revenues.  The fate of remaining undeveloped lands in the city was a key campaign issue, with pending projects including Fanita Ranch, a proposed theater complex, and land around the Carlton Hills Golf Course that recently sold.

East County News Service

East County Magazine invited all five candidates running for Santee City Council to be interviewed on our radio show on KNSJ.  Two have participated thus far. (We hope to add more soon, so check back.)

 Incumbent Councilman John Minto, a former detective and chair of the East County Economic Development Council, says Santee is enjoying a robust economy and takes pride in his accomplishments, such as creating a public-private partnership to build a sports park and creating jobs.

Challenger Maggie Acerra, a budget and finance specialist, says she is running to be a voice for the people, increase public awareness of upcoming issues, and believes the council is too cozy with developers.

Hear our interviews ( note: audio files may take a few moments to load):

Maggie Acerra interview: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

John Minto interview: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/audio/2019/August/MintoInterview-FINAL.mp3

By Miriam Raftery

October 17, 2013 (Santee) – Santee’s City Council has voted to allow annexation of the controversial Castlerock Development project, meaning the land will be transferred from San Diego to Santee.  Pardee Homes plans to build 283 single family homes, 147 multi-family dwellings and a public park at the project. 

The Council has fought to oppose Castlerock on the boundary of Santee and San Diego, but the City of San Diego approved it.  Unable to block the project, Santee’s Council decided to allow annexation so that developer fees and property taxes from the new homes will be paid to Santee. In turn, Santee will provide services as fire protection.

By Miriam Raftery

July 6, 2013 (Santee)—At Wednesday’s meeting, the Santee City Council will hold a public hearing on a resolution to declare eminent domain in order to obtain easements and fee interests for dozens of properties on nine different streets, as part of the Prospect Avenue street widening project. 

Property owners have rejected fair market offers made via a letter, according to the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting.

March 12, 2013 (Santee) – Santee’s City Council on Wednesday will weigh actions aimed at reducing  activities by the homeless including panhandling, overtaking public parks, riverbed camping and “scavenging” (including taking items from recycling bins). 

The City of Santee has no shelter for the homeless.  The proposals to discourage homeless people from taking up residency in Santee public areas focuses not on providing services to help the homeless, however, but rather emphasizes punitive actions such as banning cigarettes in public parks and alcohol on weekdays, prohibiting single-sale sizes of alcoholic beverages at new businesses, and prohibiting aggressive conduct by panhandlers.