SANTEE READIES FOR GOLF COURSE HOUSING PROJECT

By Mike Allen

June 23, 2025 (Santee) -- While golfing and expansive courses are diminishing nationally, the owner of Santee’s only golf course is pushing a plan that would convert the current 1950s facility to a modern country club resort including 242 new houses, a 42-room hotel, a redesigned course, and other amenities.

The project that was formally announced last year has completed an environmental impact report (EIR) posted on the city’s website (www.cityofsanteeca.gov) outlining in detail all aspects of the development, its ramifications and how those impacts can be mitigated. The public comment period on the document opened June 10 and is slated to close July 24.

When the notice to redevelop the course went out, it generated about 50 comments, most of which opposed the proposed plan. The main issues concerned visual impact, air and water quality, biological and cultural resources, land use, recreation, traffic, and wildfire.

Mary Jo Clark, a nearby resident of 40 years, said there were numerous reasons the project isn’t a good idea, including the fact that the property is in a flood plain that often gets flooded during heavy rains; contains an abundance of wildlife including some endangered species; and has minimal plans for improved infrastructure, which would endanger residents during a wildfire or flooding.

“The projected building would also decrease the property value of the homes of those of us who currently live adjacent to the golf course,” Clark said.

Ray and Vickie Bryon, who live near the course, asked why the houses aren’t  planned for the Mission Gorge Road side of the property where these wouldn’t block views. They also cited concerns about the current traffic congestion in Santee, and how the added housing would exacerbate an already “horrific” situation especially in the mornings. “Downtown Santee traffic is a disaster to get to and from local stores, especially on the weekends. How can our city handle any more homes, cars, etc.?” they wrote.

Yet some comments gave the project enthusiastic thumbs up. “Santee is growing. Golf is growing,” said Andy D (who did not list his surname). “We have the opportunity to have one of the nicest golf courses for many miles. Carlton Oaks has a ton of potential but desperately needs rejuvenation.”

Michelle Dresler, a member of the city’s Park’s and Recreation Committee, wrote that the project was “a fiscally pragmatic way to address housing needs in the community while preserving a large green space in an urban environment.”

Dresler added that funds from the development and recurring spending by golfers is a smart way to maintain environmental and public health benefits without increasing taxes.

The housing planned on the 165-acre site would go on two distinct segments, 86 on the west side, and 156 on the east side, which would also accommodate the hotel, 10 cottage-style hotel units, a new clubhouse and cart barn, and a completely redesigned and shortened golf course. The 16,000 clubhouse will contain a restaurant, bar, kitchen, banquet hall, administrative space, and restrooms.

Carlton Oaks’ owner John Chen via his firm, Alika, LLC, is partnering with one of the country’s biggest home builders, Lennar Homes, on the project which needs approvals from not only Santee but the city of San Diego because 3.5 acres of the site is within the neighboring city’s boundaries. In addition, the plan must pass muster from seven different federal and state agencies, including both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

This is the fourth time the golf course has floated the idea of adding housing to the property. It was proposed twice in the 1990s, and in 2006. Santee elected officials have approved infill housing several times this year, and earlier this month approved the largest residential project in the city’s history— Fanita Ranch, with 2,949 houses on about 2,600 acres in the northwest quadrant of Santee that abuts MCAS Miramar.

That project had a long history of litigation and financial obstacles and more has been promised by ardent environmental opponents and those who feel the project would endanger lives because of the threat from wildfires.

According to the EIR, the Carlton Oaks Golf Course project would be built in eight phases, ranging from a few months to a few years, although some of this work would overlap. No price ranges for the new houses were given, but the median price for a new house in San Diego County is about $1 million. The senior housing element of the proposed project was eliminated in the latest version.