SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Neighbors point to a devastating Northern California fire as their strongest case towards getting the latest housing development denied in East County.
Dozens killed and home after home devastated by the Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif., last year.
"A fire here would cause massive casualties and probably burn into Chula Vista or San Diego," Peter Anderson, of the Sierra Club, said in front of the County Administration Building Wednesday.
Neighbors and environmental advocates opposed to Otay Ranch Village 14 say the county needs to stop piling up hazards. Despite the protest, the county moved Wednesday to move forward with the project.
"This is a catastrophe in the making," Dan Silver, of the Endangered Habitats League, said. "There are tens of thousands of unbuilt units in good village locations, there is no need to put a project in such a dangerous location."
Those opposed also believe evacuations would be an issue adding the infrastructure should go elsewhere.
The locations for many of the new housing developments in San Diego have been called dangerous. Near Escondido, the Harmony Grove and Valiano subdivison faced similar fire fears related criticism but both were eventually passed by the county board.
"This project is the poster child for dangerous sprawl development," Anderson said.
People who don't want to see more homes built where fires have burned feel it's about putting more folks in harms way.
