A long-debated housing development in the San Diego suburb of Santee has hit yet another stumbling block—and this time, it’s a hard stop…for now.
A judge has ordered the city of Santee to cancel its prior approval of Fanita Ranch and its 3,0000 new construction homes. According to the L.A. Times, the court ruled that developers hadn’t adequately considered how the new homes could affect wildfire evacuations.
The city of Santee had previously approved eight resolutions and ordinances for the development, overseen by HomeFed Fanita Rancho. However, San Diego Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal wrote that the plans didn’t fully address whether thousands of new residents would have time to flee during an emergency.
Developers say they plan to revise their environmental impact report to address the judge’s concerns. The L.A. Times adds that once a new plan is constructed, the public would then have 45 days to weigh in before officials could re-approve the project.