SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the Harmony Grove Village South development on Wednesday.
Harmony Grove Village South will build 453 homes and businesses in unincorporated San Diego near Escondido, despite fierce opposition from residents who say the project puts lives at risk during wildfires.
The development will be built on open land off Country Club Drive, but longtime residents argue the new homes could block their only evacuation route during a fire emergency.
At Wednesday's Board of Supervisors land use meeting, Supervisor Jim Desmond pressed Rancho Santa Fe Fire Chief Dave McQuead on fire evacuation safety concerns.
"Does the project adequately address the risks of fires and evacuation scenarios?" Desmond asked.
"That is correct. The project is safe with those modifications," McQuead responded.
The fire chief's response drew angry shouts from the crowd, with members of the "Don't Burn Us" group saying McQuead had previously given a different response to a similar question just one month earlier at the Elfin Forest Harmony Grove Town Council meeting.
Based on studies from six different entities with fire expertise, including CAL FIRE, McQuead told the board that residents could be evacuated in one to two hours during a fire.
"We would systematically move each community so we wouldn't end up with massive gridlock," McQuead said.
However, Harmony Grove resident JP Theberge challenges the fire experts analysis on the one-to-two hour evacuation estimate.
Theberge contacted three independent wildfire experts to study the evacuation conditions in the area. They include Dr. Rahn in 2017 (link [dropbox.com]), Dr. Cova in 2024, and Ladris Technologies (a modeling company run by CalFire executives) in 2025, plus more.
Theberge said all three fire studies showed entrapment.
Cova’s study showed it would take 3500 vehicles just in Harmony Grove and Eden Valley seven to nine hours to evacuate, resulting in entrapment, because fire models show that the fire overwhelms the evacuation route within 90 minutes.
Harmony Grove residents also pushed back against McQuead's comments on sheltering in place during a wildfire. ABC 10News tried reaching the fire chief for additional comment, but did not hear back.
Developers at Wednesday's meeting also attempted to provide reassurance, stating that modifications in the area since the 2014 Coches Fire have brought the project up to code.
"Based on the analysis, there's adequate road capacity with three lanes and a new bridge to evacuate the project," they said.
According to the plan, residents would evacuate north to Escondido or east to Harmony Grove Parkways near Palomar Hospital.
However, longtime residents remain unconvinced by these assurances.
"I feel like we got screwed," Debbie O'Neil, a member of the "Don't Burn Us" group and Elfin Forest Harmony Grove Town Council, said.
O'Neil has lived in the area for more than 25 years and has survived several fires, including the Coches Fire.
"There was nobody here to help us. Now you're talking about putting 450 homes, that's 1,000 people here on this one road out," O'Neil said.
She questioned Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer's decision, saying residents believed she at least would understand their concerns.
"We thought we had a chance that they would understand our side and they would care about the people," O'Neil said.
Patrick Molenaar, who has lived in the area for decades, said residents have worked with developers before but were disappointed when promised amenities that didn't materialize.
"We're not nimbys. We worked with Harmony Grove Village to make a village that was compatible with our rural area," Molenaar said. "There must be a secondary access. There just must be. This is a death sentence for people who live here, including all the people who will move here."
A spokesperson for the developers sent a statement which read:
"We’re grateful to the Board of Supervisors for their support of Harmony Grove Village South and their commitment to tackling our County’s housing crisis. Today’s vote was a victory for hard-working San Diegans who will soon have the opportunity to own a new home in a beautiful community and live the American dream.” - David Kovach, managing partner, Harmony Grove Village South
