Act Now!

Write comment letters

With Los Angeles on fire, we need to remind the Board of Supervisors that evacuation experts have shown that allowing the developer to waive key fire safety measures dooms a community to potential entrapment and death. Scroll down for info on how to write comment letters or some quick one-click emails.

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One-click sample emails

These are one-click templates you can use to send out letters to voice your concern.

It’s best if you modify the letter by creating your own subject and by placing your personal anecdotes or story at the beginning of the letter, not the end.

Pick one and send an email to our decision-makers.

EMAIL 1

Sprawl in very high risk fire areas is bad for people and bad for the environment - please vote no on HGV South.

EMAIL 2

One way out is just not safe. Please force developer of HGV South to build a secondary road. Don't let us get entrapped during the next fire.

EMAIL 3

Will County officials be haunted by their bad decisions? Don’t let developers slide on public safety.

ESPAÑOL

Por favor no pongan nuestras familias en peligro.

One click emails work with most email clients. If your email client doesn’t respond, click here for option 1 and here for option 2.

Write your own comment letter.

Write a letter in your own words to capture your concerns. The LA fires have many of us all reliving the trauma of the Cocos Fire and (as well as the dozens earlier fires). You can look at a message examples here for inspiration.

LA Fires are a reminder about how vulnerable this neighborhood is.

The HGVS project is in a Very High Fire Severity Zone. It has only one way out. There is no viable emergency exit. It is surrounded by thousands of acres of vegetation. This neighborhood has seen destructive wildfires twice a decade since the 80s, and lost 30 homes just 10 years ago.

Highlight new information that wasn’t available back in 2018.

If there is any new “information on the ground” that differed from 2018, the County will need to consider it and hopefully analyze it. New fire maps, new projects being proposed, anything that would require them to review original EIR again.

Try to include sources (via links) for claims you are making.

Provide links, articles or studies. The more sources and backup you provide, the more likely they will have to address it substantively which can provide an opening to challenge the EIR.

Make claims that are substantive which require research to rebut.

Claims that are substantive and require a deeper analysis to rebut can help us make the case that this project is deficient.

The fire entrapment risk due to lack of exits is our biggest concern.

The County and the RSF Fire District have have waived the requirement for secondary exits. It is required for projects like this (due to “dead end road standards”). No other development in the District only has ONE point of egress. Why is should Harmony Grove residents not warrant this safety protocol? The history of fire, structure loss and loss of life should be enough to remind the supervisors that this project should not be given waivers of any kind.

BLANK EMAIL WITH ADDRESSES

Creates a blank email addressed to the Board of Supervisors.
If your email client doesn’t respond, click here for the appropriate addresses.

Message examples:

The wildfire risk of this proposed development is simply too high. There are insufficient evacuation routes and it is impossible to add more, due to the steep, rugged terrain.
The property is in a “Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.” The Cocos Fire burned right next to this property in 2014, burning 30 homes.
There is only one evacuation route from this property. To meet a minimum level of safety, there would have to be a second way out. But because of steep slopes in the area, there is no feasible way to build a road to create a second evacuation route.
Adding more people to this high-risk zone increases the risk to current residents as well as putting new residents at risk.
This area has an unusually high level of biodiversity and Escondido Creek runs nearby. The County has already made a big investment in conserving much of the land near this property. The project would chop up important wildlife habitat and undermine what we’ve already done to protect wildlife habitat in North County.
Instead of building here, we should be operating under the guidelines of the Fire Safe Infill Alternative, building homes close to villages and in urban centers.
By approving this development despite the obvious safety risks, the County is putting residents at risk, and is prioritizing profits over people.

EMAIL SUPERVISORS

Creates a blank email addressed to the Board of Supervisors.
If your email client doesn’t respond, click here for the appropriate addresses.

Documents

DR. COVA LETTER - WILDFIRE EVACUATION ISSUES 2024

TOWN COUNCIL LETTER TO BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 2024

TOWN COUNCIL LAWYER LETTER TO BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 2018

COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO DRAFT FINAL EIR 2018

COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO FIRE PROTECTION PLAN

Share and mobilize

Share the link to this page on social media, in your text threads, through WhatsUp or send an email to your network of friends. If you are a member of a local Facebook group, make sure to share this link with them. The key is to share it with at least five people or in five places. www.dontburnus.org/actnowhgvs

DON’T BURN US

SAY NO TO
HARMONY GROVE VILLAGE SOUTH

ACT NOW AND WRITE AN EMAIL TO OUR DECISION-MAKERS

Make a Tax-Deductible Donation to help oppose the project

SIGN THE PETITION

County Board of Supervisors:

terra.lawson-remer@sdcounty.ca.gov, joel.anderson@sdcounty.ca.gov, monica.montgomerysteppe@sdcounty.ca.gov, Jim.Desmond@sdcounty.ca.gov, MaykentL.Salazar@sdcounty.ca.gov, Gregory.Kazmer@sdcounty.ca.gov, Jeffrey.Yuen@sdcounty.ca.gov, Eric.Henson@sdcounty.ca.gov, Hunter.McDonald@sdcounty.ca.gov, Rebecca.Smith2@sdcounty.ca.gov, Dahvia.Lynch@sdcounty.ca.gov, amy.harbert@sdcounty.ca.gov, Mark.Slovick@sdcounty.ca.gov, efhgtc@gmail.com, Bianca.Lorenzana@sdcounty.ca.gov, Tony.Mecham@fire.ca.gov

RSF Fire District:

Montagne@rsf-fire.org, mcquead@rsf-fire.org, mcquead@rsf-fire.org, ashcraft@rsf-fire.org, hillgren@rsf-fire.org, malin@rsf-fire.org, stine@rsf-fire.org,

County Planning Commission:

MollyW@sandiego.gov, Molly.Weber@sdcounty.ca.gov, David.Pallinger@sdcounty.ca.gov, Douglas.Barnhart@sdcounty.ca.gov, Michael.Edwards@sdcounty.ca.gov, Ginger.Hitzke@sdcounty.ca.gov, Ronald.Ashman@sdcounty.ca.gov, Yolanda.Calvo@sdcounty.ca.gov, PDS.PlanningCommission@sdcounty.ca.gov

Candidates BOS District 1:

palomaguirre@gmail.com, jmccann@chulavistaca.gov, district1@chulavistaca.gov, Vivian@vivianmoreno.com,

Copy and Paste

OPTION 1

To: terra.lawson-remer@sdcounty.ca.gov, joel.anderson@sdcounty.ca.gov, monica.montgomerysteppe@sdcounty.ca.gov, Jim.Desmond@sdcounty.ca.gov, MaykentL.Salazar@sdcounty.ca.gov, Gregory.Kazmer@sdcounty.ca.gov, Jeffrey.Yuen@sdcounty.ca.gov, Eric.Henson@sdcounty.ca.gov, Hunter.McDonald@sdcounty.ca.gov, Rebecca.Smith2@sdcounty.ca.gov, Dahvia.Lynch@sdcounty.ca.gov, amy.harbert@sdcounty.ca.gov, Mark.Slovick@sdcounty.ca.gov, efhgtc@gmail.com, Bianca.Lorenzana@sdcounty.ca.gov, Montagne@rsf-fire.org, mcquead@rsf-fire.org, mcquead@rsf-fire.org, ashcraft@rsf-fire.org, hillgren@rsf-fire.org, malin@rsf-fire.org, stine@rsf-fire.org, palomaguirre@gmail.com, jmccann@chulavistaca.gov, district1@chulavistaca.gov, Vivian@vivianmoreno.com, MollyW@sandiego.gov, Molly.Weber@sdcounty.ca.gov, David.Pallinger@sdcounty.ca.gov, Douglas.Barnhart@sdcounty.ca.gov, Michael.Edwards@sdcounty.ca.gov, Ginger.Hitzke@sdcounty.ca.gov, Ronald.Ashman@sdcounty.ca.gov, Yolanda.Calvo@sdcounty.ca.gov, PDS.PlanningCommission@sdcounty.ca.gov

Subject: While LA burns, San Diego County is waiving fire code for developers in very high risk areas. Please don't approve HGV South.

Message:

Honorable Supervisors, Commissioners, Fire District, staff and potential District 1 candidates:

Having survived the Cocos Fire that ravaged our fire-prone neighborhood and burned down 30 of my neighbors' homes, I am now witnessing the horrendous situation unfolding in Los Angeles and reliving that trauma every time I turn on the news.

To add insult to injury, it is hard to believe that County and Fire District are really considering waiving crucial fire code requirements for the developer of Harmony Grove Village South. It would be insane to allow this project to move forward with only one egress, despite it being in a Very High Fire Severity Zone in a neighborhood that has burned down at least twice a decade since the 1980s. This neighborhood has lost many homes over the years and had a fatality when a community member was killed trying to escape the Harmony Grove fire. It’s hard to understand how this project could move forward without adequate fire safety measures in place, something as basic as a secondary evacuation route and expanded road capacity. With what we’re seeing in LA, it is unconscionable.

The Cocos Fire of 2014 really scared those of us who were around at the time. People were stuck in standstill traffic on both ends of the valley, with some barely making it out before the fire reached their neighborhoods. This was before the Harmony Grove Village (not south) project was even built.

Our community dutifully supported HGV (not South) because the County promised us that this would fulfill our obligation to bring housing to our little rural community. Dahvia Lynch, the DCAO of land use and planning today, was the planner at the time and she held visioning workshops and diplomatically brought our community around to supporting a project that would double our population with 742 homes. We were assured by staff and by the Supervisors at the time that, due to the limited evacuation infrastructure and increased wildfire risk, this would be the last big project for a very long while. Not 2 years later, a Colorado billionaire buys up foreclosed land and embarks on a quest to undermine the community for the deceptively named Harmony Grove Village South. Ironically, that same billionaire lost his family home in 2022 during the Marshall fires.

If the HGV South project is approved there will be approximately six times more cars evacuating than we saw during Cocos fire, but no new road capacity. Something like 3500 vehicles will pack onto two-lane roads trying to escape a fast moving fire. According to an independent evacuation expert, it would take 7 hours to evacuate the immediate vicinity. A fire starting within 6 miles of us could overwhelm the community in less than 2 hours.

Please, the last Board got it wrong. I urge you to vote no on this dangerous project, or at the very least require a thorough new fire safety analysis and demand a secondary egress. Our lives depend on it. When the next fire hits, you, as decision-makers, will live with the consequences of your ultimate decision. It will be your legacy. Let’s hope it will be the right legacy.

Sincerely,

Copy and Paste

OPTION 2

To: terra.lawson-remer@sdcounty.ca.gov, joel.anderson@sdcounty.ca.gov, monica.montgomerysteppe@sdcounty.ca.gov, Jim.Desmond@sdcounty.ca.gov, MaykentL.Salazar@sdcounty.ca.gov, Gregory.Kazmer@sdcounty.ca.gov, Jeffrey.Yuen@sdcounty.ca.gov, Eric.Henson@sdcounty.ca.gov, Hunter.McDonald@sdcounty.ca.gov, Rebecca.Smith2@sdcounty.ca.gov, Dahvia.Lynch@sdcounty.ca.gov, amy.harbert@sdcounty.ca.gov, Tony.Mecham@fire.ca.gov, Mark.Slovick@sdcounty.ca.gov, efhgtc@gmail.com, Bianca.Lorenzana@sdcounty.ca.gov, Montagne@rsf-fire.org, mcquead@rsf-fire.org, mcquead@rsf-fire.org, ashcraft@rsf-fire.org, hillgren@rsf-fire.org, malin@rsf-fire.org, stine@rsf-fire.org, palomaguirre@gmail.com, jmccann@chulavistaca.gov, district1@chulavistaca.gov, Vivian@vivianmoreno.com, MollyW@sandiego.gov, Molly.Weber@sdcounty.ca.gov, David.Pallinger@sdcounty.ca.gov, Douglas.Barnhart@sdcounty.ca.gov, Michael.Edwards@sdcounty.ca.gov, Ginger.Hitzke@sdcounty.ca.gov, Ronald.Ashman@sdcounty.ca.gov, Yolanda.Calvo@sdcounty.ca.gov, PDS.PlanningCommission@sdcounty.ca.gov

Subject: Don’t let a bad decision haunt you forever. Force developer of HGV South to build a secondary exit.

Message:

Honorable County Supervisors, Fire Officials, Planning Commissioners, and Potential District 1 Candidates:

I lived through the Cocos Fire and witnessed firsthand how quickly a blaze can tear through our community. Thirty of my neighbors lost their homes. Watching the current devastation in Los Angeles brings back those same fears.

It’s hard to fathom that the County and Fire District might allow Harmony Grove Village South to move forward with only one exit—even though it’s in a Very High Fire Severity Zone that has burned multiple times since the 1980s. One person died attempting to flee the last Harmony Grove fire, and now we risk an even greater tragedy if thousands of residents are trapped during a fast-moving wildfire. With standstill traffic during the 2014 Cocos Fire—and that was before Harmony Grove Village (not South) was built—you can imagine how dire things could become with six times more cars.

We were promised that Harmony Grove Village (not South) would meet our housing obligations and that we wouldn’t have any more developments jamming 1000’s more cars onto our limited rural evacuation route. Yet here we are, discussing a massive new development with no expanded road capacity and no secondary evacuation route. Experts say it could take seven hours to evacuate; a wildfire can arrive in two.

I respectfully ask you to reject this proposal, or at least demand a thorough new fire safety analysis and require a secondary egress. When the next fire erupts, your decision today could save—or endanger—thousands of lives.

Sincerely,