With the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles still raging, residents of a North County community are raising alarms about a proposed housing project in an area that was burned in the 2014 Cocos Fire.
RCS Harmony Partners wants to build 453 homes in the rural patch between San Marcos and Escondido. The project is called Harmony Grove Village South.
Residents say the proposal is unsafe because of limited evacuation routes.
"We'll die, and I don't want to die," said Debbie O'Neill. Her family had to evacuate during the Cocos Fire, which burned more than 20 homes in the northern part of Harmony Grove.
“If you look at the pictures of Harmony Grove, it was completely demolished," said Marilyn Johnson-Kozlow, whose home was spared in 2014. "Our church was gone, everybody’s houses were gone.”
Johnson-Koslow said she has PTSD from watching the destruction in Los Angeles.
"You can't actually explain it," she said. "It's like losing a person or losing your community, losing your church."
Harmony Grove Village South was originally approved in 2018, but the approval was rescinded in 2022 following a court order. The developers appealed, and an appeals court ruled that the project could be resubmitted for approval after a tweak in the environmental impact report.
J.P. Theberge with the Elfin Forest Harmony Grove Town Council said the project could be up for consideration in the coming months, but the fire danger is still there.
"We're hoping the county knows that enough is enough," he said, noting the increasing severity of wildfires. "(The) Cedar Fire … was one of the most destructive fires in California history, and it was in San Diego County. Now, every fire since has been the most destructive fire in California history."
At issue is the evacuation route. The only way in or out of the proposed development is Country Club Drive, a two-lane road.
"Think of a movie theatre filled to the brim with only one exit and there’s a fire," Theberge said. "Well, that’s what we’re facing here.”
Developers proposed using a dirt-access road as an emergency escape route, but Theberge said that route is inaccessible because of a giant boulder blocking the trail. He pointed the boulder out while taking San Diego media on a tour of the area.
“If you can get around the boulder, there's even more treacherous terrain. This is actually the best of it right here,” he said of the winding trail.
Plus, the trail is private property, and the developers don't have easement rights.
In a statement, David Kovach of Harmony Grove Village South said residents are using "scare tactics" to derail much-needed housing development in the county.
"We find it disappointing and, quite frankly, offensive that a small group of anti-housing activists here in San Diego are using this tragedy to advance their personal agenda in such an inappropriate and opportunistic way," he said. "We look forward to discussing the project in greater detail when the time is more appropriate."
O'Neill said she recognizes the need for more housing, but this is a safety issue.
"We are not against housing. We are for housing," she said. "We supported Harmony Grove Village. We worked with the developer on how to make it so it would be safer."
Harmony Grove Village is a separate mixed-use development with 782 residential homes on the edge of Escondido built after the Cocos Fire.
Theberge said if developers have a viable plan for fire evacuation, he'll be open to the idea.
"We don't really want to compromise when it comes to public safety," he said. "Yeah, if they put in a secondary egress that's legit, I think the community will have to think long and hard about whether or not that's enough. And, you know, we’ll rely on experts. We're not going to rely on our emotions."
Theberge accuses the county of listening to developers instead of local experts on fire safety regarding housing developments in rural areas. KPBS news partner inewsource previously reported that county staff were working closely with developers during the review process, with planning staff feeding fire officials talking points when presenting the projects to county supervisors for approval.
Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, whose district includes this portion of Harmony Grove, said she can't comment directly on the project before it comes to the Board of Supervisors for approval, but said fire safety will be top of mind when she reviews the application.
