Back in 2018, a developer proposed the project, claiming it would help the County fund a shortfall from a previous development. It is being proposed in a wildfire-prone box canyon surrounded by thousands of acres permanently conserved habitat lands. This area has been the site of dozens of wildfires over the years resulting in significant structure loss. Most recently, the Cocos fire traumatized residents and destroyed homes adjacent to the proposed site. The fact that the County and the Rancho Santa Fe Fire Protection District are allowing this project to move forward with an inadequate evacuation road network and no secondary or emergency egress is unconscionable. Putting people in harm’s way to resolve a shortfall is unforgivable.
In 2014, the Cocos Fire became the latest in a long history of fires that overtook this part of the community. Over 30 structures were lost when a fire that started in San Marcos sped through the open space and hurtled towards homes on Country Club Road south of Harmony Grove Road, catching residents off guard. Residents reported long lines of traffic to exit the area due to congestion from vehicles and horse trailers. Some barely were able to get out in time. This was before Harmony Grove Village was built that would ultimately add another 1,500 vehicles to the evacuation traffic on the two lane road.
Cocos Fire Photos in Harmony Grove from resident Eric Neubauer (during the fire) and JP Theberge (post fire)
Tubbs fire (88% of newer, wildfire hardened homes burned).
Suburbs can and do catch fire.
The number one issue when it comes to wildfire safety is evacuation. Without an orderly and quick evacuation, there can be entrapment and bodily injury or death (Camp Fire in Paradise for example). We are constantly reminded to make sure we have an evacuation plan. In fact our own RSF Fire District reminds people to “have at least two ways out.” Ironically, the proposed project is the only subdivision in the district that has only one way out. All the others, most of which are much smaller, have between three and six different evacuation routes or emergency exits. The road network is composed of small, often windy, two lane country roads, surrounded in vegetation, making evacuation capacity limited.
The Cocos fire really tested the capacity of the small two lane country roads that serve the community. On both ends of the wider Elfin Forest, Harmony Grove and Eden Valley communities, there was standstill traffic. On the west side of the valley, there were hours of stopped traffic on San Elijo Road, preventing residents from evacuation from the east. Residents were turned away. On the east side of the valley, near the proposed project, a smoky Country Club Road was clogged with fire apparatus, horse trailers and vehicles attempting to leave. Residents had plenty of notice to leave but even so, some barely made it out.
The Cocos Fire, San Elijo Hills, May 2014, Union-Tribune, “Cocos Fire Traffic to be Reviewed” (link)
Video from the Cocos Fire, Harmony Grove, 2014
The unincorporated communities of Elfin Forest, Harmony Grove, and Eden Valley, with a population of approximately 4,050 residents, have always been highly engaged in their fire protection efforts. From the very beginning (Harmony Grove was founded by the Harmony Grove Spiritualists in 1896), this largely rural community faced multiple large scale wildfire events, on average about once every four years since at least the early 80s. The Harmony Fire of 1996 still haunts residents who remember it as it were yesterday. Hundreds of homes were lost and a neighbor, David Hammond (link), lost his life evacuating. The fire is memorialized in displays at the former Elfin Forest/Harmony Grove fire station.
From the early neighborhood firefighting teams to the establishment of a volunteer-run Elfin Forest Harmony Grove Fire Department (EFHGFD) in 1972, the community's wildfire safety DNA is evident. This department was funded by the generosity of community members and through an unprecedented, self-imposed fire benefit fee—the largest of its kind in the county—highlighting the community's commitment to fire safety.
Today, these communities are part of the Rancho Santa Fe Fire Protection District, and the benefit fee remains in place due to the strong relationship between the district and the residents. Our Fire Foundation provides grants such as video equipment and funding for tactical wildland boots for every career and volunteer firefighter in the district.
However there are some concerns from residents that the District is choosing to risk the lives of residents by blessing Harmony Grove Village South because it will provide some more revenue to the district and possibly help it solve mismanagement or a financial shortfall inherited from the previous development that was approved.
Harmony Fire, October 1996, Union-Tribune, “North County Fire Storm” (link)
Cocos Fire evacuation, view from proposed HGVS project
The impossible math of evacuation
assuming 2 vehicles per household
6 times as many vehicles as we had in the Cocos Fire
not including livestock trailers (for 247 horses)
assuming 2 cars per household
assuming 500 cars per hour
assuming distance of ignition point = 6 miles
average fire speed = 6 m/h
Thomas J. Cova PhD, University of Utah, “Harmony Grove Village South would compromise Public Safety” (link)
Remains of the Harmony Grove Spiritualists Association after the Cocos Fire, 2014, 248 yards from HGV South
Why are we still talking about this?
California Fire Code requires a secondary egress as does the National Fire Prevention Association code NFPA 1141, for a project of this size in a wildland urban interface. However, the developer and land owner, RCS Partners, doesn’t want to spend the money on including a secondary exit to the project. They would rather spend $135,000 pumping money into local elections to try to get supervisors to vote “yes” on the project.
The community is fearful given the historical fire danger they have experienced as recently as 2014 and the clear expert-driven analysis by two separate experts that this is a catastrophe waiting to happen. And the County of San Diego department of planning continues to waive the requirement for secondary egress. And Rancho Santa Fe Fire Protection District has chosen to ignore the community’s request to review the safety of the project.
It’s all about about resolving a shortfall
From the beginning, the developer told the community numerous times that “the County asked us to add rooftops” because they needed the money to offset the shortfall from the fire house built for the original Harmony Grove Village project. See, HGV was approved by the Board of Supervisors back in 2007. They were required to build a firehouse, but they were not required to entirely fund the ongoing operations. So that project came with a revenue shortfall due to the County’s financially irresponsible decision.
That shortfall amounted to approximately $2 million per year. In 2016, the volunteer fire Elfin Forest/Harmony Grove Fire Department was going to be taken over by the County and the community lobbied to merge instead with RSF Fire. LAFCO, which oversees district mergers, noted in their staff report:
“Without a sufficient exchange of property taxes and general fund monies between the County of San Diego and Rancho Santa Fe FPD, an estimated deficit (operating shortfall) is projected, ranging from $2.2 million in FY 2014-15 to $1.9 million in FY 2018-19.” (link)
The County ultimately gave RSF Fire a one-time payment of $2.5 million which was supposed to be amortized over 8 years. Interestingly, it expires this year, just in time for HGVS to be approved. This was far from sufficient to resolve the shortfall. When HGV South came along, the environmental documents made extensive reference to “helping solve the shortfall.” After the community provided a comment on this, the County revised the documents to note that “financial arrangements” resolved the gap. What exactly were those arrangements?
The answer seems to come from the County Fire Authority who provided their “will serve” letter for HGV South (meaning they agree to provide fire service), it was “conditioned on helping fund” the original HGV fire station (link) which the Board of Supervisors at the time had required but not insisted that operations be fully funded. It couldn’t be more clear that HGV South was meant to fund that shortfall.
So now, the project has come back yet again, after being approved (2018), then successfully sued (2019), then appealed by the developer (2021) then having approvals rescinded (2021). They are now back again and not offering anything new. The same project, same number of units, same lack of secondary egress. County planning is supporting it and the RSF Fire District is supporting it.
It seems that the community’s safety is less important than fixing the previous Board’s financial mismanagement. If this project is intended to fund the previous project, will we need another project to help offset this projects likely deficits?
The community is outraged, especially given the fact that our voter-approved fire benefit fee is many times higher than any other in the District. We pay more and yet we are sacrificed at the altar of the County’s financial irresponsibility.
It is up to the Board of Supervisors to make this right.
The approximately 111-acre project is located in the unincorporated portion of San Diego County in the community of Harmony Grove. The project site is bounded by Escondido Creek to the north, Country Club Drive to the west, and the Del Dios Highland Preserve and County preserves to the south. The communities of Elfin Forest and San Elijo Hills lie several miles to the West.
