BONSALL -- A massive housing development proposed for the west side of Interstate 15 between Fallbrook and Escondido appears to be moving forward again, as opponents last week had their last chance to comment on the project's environmental impact report.

The "Merriam Mountains" proposal calls for 2,700 homes to be built on a 560-acre footprint within 2,327 acres of rugged, mountainous terrain across the freeway from the Lawrence Welk resort.

Opponents of the project have objected to the idea of building thousands of homes in a rural area surrounded by flammable brush in the middle of a drought, but the developer, NNP-Stonegate Merriam, is pushing forward with its plan.

With a 1,200-acre biological preserve, 18 miles of trails and 37 parks, Stonegate has said most of the land would be preserved as open space, with housing units clustered near a proposed 10-acre shopping center north of Deer Springs Road.

Monday was the last opportunity for residents to comment on the project's environmental impact report, which project manager Joe Perring said is being processed by the county's planning commission.

"We got a little over 100 letters, and in the next couple of months we'll be working with the county to respond to all the comments we received," Perring said Friday. "Our hope is that we'll go to the planning commission in October or November, and then to the Board of Supervisors in November or December."

Concerns

County supervisors have the ultimate say in whether the project will be built, but several local groups and individuals have raised concerns about everything from traffic to fire safety.

"There are three or four of what I call 'hard rock' concerns," said Richard Coffman, who lives near the site and has spoken out against the Merriam Mountains proposal.

Coffman said his biggest concern is the danger of fires starting anywhere in the hundreds of acres of chaparral that would be more accessible because of the trail network, nothing that there are thousands of people living in the area.

"If there's ever a Santa Ana condition and a fire gets started there, it'll be unstoppable," he said. "And their answer is, 'We'll educate our residents to be aware of fire issues.' Really, it shouldn't even be developed, I suppose, because it's a very fire-prone area. Does it make sense to develop a place that hazardous?"

Perring said his company has come up with a fire plan, approved by the county in January 2007, that includes fire buffer zones, access roads and evacuation procedures.

"We share the concern that the county and Deer Springs fire district have about fire safety, and we've worked really hard with those groups to develop our fire protection plan," said Perring. "We think our plan represents the state of the art, as far as urban-wildlife interface fire planning is concerned."

Another key issue for opponents is water supply.

"We're in a drought, we've been in a drought for a number of years," Coffman said, questioning how Stonegate could find water for thousands of people when many water districts are not issuing new meters.

Perring said the Vallecitos Water District has authorized water supply hookups for the 2,700 proposed homes, but said it's a "calculated risk" to predict that Vallecitos will still be issuing water meters when Stonegate finally has its building permits ready.

"The drought is certainly a factor … (but) we're confident that, in the long range, there will be water to serve the project," he said. "We are able to take advantage of technology that will allow us to be much more water efficient, in terms of irrigation and within the home. In the event that our plan is approved and the district is not issuing water meters, we'd have to wait until the drought is over."

In officials' hands

What will happen with the proposed development remains in the hands of a few key county planners and supervisors.

If Stonegate gets its way, thousands of homes will be built in five huge neighborhoods over the course of a decade.

"This is a difficult part of the country to develop in," Perring said. "I've had occasions to meet with a lot of folks during the time I've been working on this project, and some of them happen to be young folks who live in the area."

He said many young families are seeking affordable houses -- a niche that Stonegate hopes to fill.

"We're going to come down on the side of providing opportunities for young folks to experience the same lifestyle we have during our lives in California," he said. "We think it's the right thing to do, we think it's honorable, we think that there is a great need out there for new homes and there always will be."

But opponents are focused on the perils of the plan.

If Coffman and other like-minded neighbors could have it their way, the hilltops jutting into the horizon west of the interstate would remain just as they are.

"I'd like to see it just stop," Coffman said. "Most people in the surrounding area are opposed to it, and I think the only answer for many of us is, 'Don't do it guys. Go somewhere else.'"

Contact staff writer Tom Pfingsten at (760) 740-3516 or tpfingsten@nctimes.com.