Preserve Wild Santee

JUDGE TELLS SANTEE TO RESCIND FANITA RANCH VOTES DUE TO FIRE DANGER

By Mike Allen

April 12, 2022 (Santee) -- Fanita Ranch, the 3,000 unit housing project that was approved by the city of Santee two years ago, received another setback last week when a San Diego judge ruled the City must rescind all the legal permits for the construction.

The judgement by Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal made last month and filed April 6, calls on the city to vacate a series of resolutions that gave Fanita Ranch the green light in September 2020. Bacal faulted the city and its contracted experts for creating an inadequate environmental report about all the impacts from the project, particularly the lack of safe evacuation routes in the wake of an emergency such as a major wildfire.


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PRESERVE WILD SANTEE TURNS IN 6,300 SIGNATURES TO PUT FANITA RANCH ON BALLOT

By Mike Allen
 
Photos courtesy of Van Collinsworth, Preserve Wild Santee
 
Photo:  Van Collinsworth,  Preserve Wild Santee, left, gives a thumbs up to supporters of the signature gathering drive
 
October 30, 2020 (Santee) -- The campaign to allow Santee voters to weigh in on the Fanita Ranch project turned in 6,300 signatures to the Santee City Clerk’s office Oct. 29, nearly double the minimum number required to force the City Council to either rescind its approval or put the issue to a public vote.

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READER’S EDITORIAL: OPEN LETTER TO SANTEE COUNCIL MEMBER LAURA KOVAL - PUBLIC INTEREST MOTIVATES PRESERVE WILD SANTEE

By Van Collinsworth, Director, Preserve Wild Santee
 
January 14, 2020 (Santee) -- At the last meeting, the new Vice-Mayor Laura Koval waited until after I had addressed the council and returned to my seat to suggest that Preserve Wild Santee and/or other environmental organizations work is financially motivated. To be clear, and as has always been the case, I will engage with any council member at the podium to address their directed remarks, as I did with the mayor. From my perspective, waiting until I cannot respond to make this suggestion of financial motivation, demonstrates the weakness of your position.
 

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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

CPUC DENIES GAS PIPELINE PROPOSAL BY SDG&E

 

 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Protesters in Santee and Mission Trails Regional park opposed the pipeline; Preserve Wild Santee

June 22, 2018 (Santee) – By a unanimous vote, the California Public Utilities Commission has denied SDG&E/Sempra Energy’s request to build a 47-mile, three-foot diameter gas pipeline known as Line 3602, which would have replaced the aging Line 1600. The new line would have run through neighborhoods in San Diego’s North County and could also have impacted Mission Trails Regional Park and Sycamore Canyon preserves. 

Activists reacted with joy, while SDG&E voiced disappointment.  The utility had argued that the pipeline was necessary for safety and reliability.  But the CPUC rejected those arguments, based on the utility’s projections for natural gas supply and the CPUC natural gas reliability standards, 10 News reports.


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

SANTEE ACTIVISTS HOLD TWO PETITION DRIVES THIS SUNDAY ON TRAFFIC GRIDLOCK INITIATIVE AND PETITION TO STOP GAS PIPELINE

 

 

 

By Miriam Raftery

 June 17, 2018 (Santee) – Activists in Santee are spending Father’s Day  gathering signatures on two petitions on issues impacting Santee and Mission Trails Regional Park areas.   

 The first aims to put the Santee General Plan Initiative on the ballot to require voter approval of development projects larger than the general plan currently allows.  The second calls on the California Public Utilities Commission to halt SDG&E’s proposed gas pipeline. Click links in this paragraph to read ECM’s prior articles on these issues.  Below are details on where you can find petition gathers and rallies: 


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

TOYOTA PROPOSAL FOR ELECTRONIC BILLBOARD IN SANTEE RAISES OBJECTIONS

 

By Miriam Raftery

August 17, 2013 (Santee) – An environmental group has lodged a formal complaint over a proposed electronic billboard in Santee, contending that the sign violates city laws and further, should require an environmental review.

The LEC-powered video billboard proposed by a Toyota dealership would stand 70 feet tall and be 321 square feet in size.  It would tower above the junction of highways 125 and 52.


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CASTLEROCK HOUSING PROJECT IN SANTEE-SAN DIEGO AREA ON SD PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA JULY 11

 

 

By Miriam Raftery

July 7, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – A controversial housing project that could include up to 430 residential units on 204 acres will be heard by the San Diego Planning Commission on Thursday, July 11 at 9 a.m.  The public can attend and testify at the hearing, which will be held at Council Chamber, 12th Floor, City Administration Building, 202 C Street in downtown San Diego.

The project proposed by Pardee homes has sparked substantial opposition from environmentalists and residents.  A 925-page environmental impact report details significant negative impacts on wildlife and the environment.  ftp://ecity.ci.santee.ca.us/DDS/FinalEIRCastlerock062013.pdf

Preserve Wild Santee’s Facebook page describes Castlerock as “a monstrous housing development in San Diego and Santee” which “proposes to destroy four vernal pools and fairy shrimp, without examining the cumulative impact of these projects …”


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

QUAIL BRUSH HEARING MOVED TO SAN DIEGO MARCH 21: ENVIRONMENTAL LEADER ACCUSES CPUC CHAIR OF ILLEGAL ACTION, CALLS FOR PEEVEY’S RECUSAL FROM VOTE

 

By Miriam Raftery

March 4, 2013 (San Diego) – The California Public Utilities Commission has announced that it has moved a hearing on the Quail Brush power plant from San Francisco to San Diego .  The hearing, at which a vote is expected, is set for March 21 at the Conference Center Hearing Room, 5520 Overland Ave., San Diego 92123 Click for Map. 

The announcement comes after five postponements of the hearing, amid allegations that CPUC's Chairman violated state open meetings law to exert undue influence; project opponents are calling for his recusal from the vote.

The California Energy Commission, meanwhile, has cancelled a public workshop set for March 3 at Grossmont College. 

Quail Brush, a gas-fired power plant proposed near Mission Trails Regional Park, has generated strong community opposition. Save Mission Trails, an activist group battling the project, has announced it plans to stage a rally at 8 a.m. prior to the 9 a.m. hearing.


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