SAN MARCOS -- The vast majority of homeowners in the city's isolated Coronado Hills neighborhood are unwilling to pay for a $5 million road that would give them a second way in and out of the community during an emergency, a city survey found.

City officials began exploring the possibility of a new access road earlier this year, saying they're concerned about residents getting out and firefighters getting into the semirural neighborhood during a fire or other major threat.

Set in the hills that overlook Cal State San Marcos on its eastern side, Coronado Hills has about 330 residents who use Coronado Hills Drive to get in and out of the neighborhood.

The long, steep road is S-shaped and narrows down to one lane at its southern end.

City officials proposed that a private, one-lane road at the southern end of Coronado Hills be widened and connected to Twin Oaks Valley Road to create a second access route. Officials also suggested that the project's $5 million cost could be split among the neighborhood's residents, who would pay $125 to $145 per property each month for 30 years.

However, 72.5 percent of the 100 or so people who responded to the survey said they preferred to do nothing about the proposed road.

San Marcos fire Chief Todd Newman said Wednesday that city officials therefore have shifted their focus to educating the residents about the fire danger and trying to get them to protect themselves by creating defensible space around their properties.

"Obviously, we're extremely concerned," Newman said. "The whole idea behind (the proposed road) was to improve the safety of that community in there. We're not likely to burden people with thousands of dollars of road projects. But at the same time, we're trying to make it safe for them to get out of there in case of a wildfire. We also want to make it safe for us to get in there so that we're not going to lose residents or firefighters."

The concerns about fire danger arose late last year, when a 100-acre wildfire threatened the neighborhood. Dozens of Coronado Hills residents were fleeing the area as firefighters headed up Coronado Hills Drive to fight the flames.

Although the fire was extinguished without incident, city officials said it highlighted the potential for people to become trapped in the hills. The City Council asked members of the city's staff to explore the idea of a new access road earlier this year even though the city has no money for the project.

The proposal staff came up with would see Attebury Drive, a private, one-lane road at the south end of the neighborhood, widened and connected to Twin Oaks Valley Road.

Some Coronado Hills residents who attended a city workshop about the proposal in January voiced concern about the idea of having to pay for the road themselves. Others said they feared the proposed route would open the area to unwanted traffic and visitors.

The city mailed its survey to 188 Coronado Hills property owners in June. Respondents were given three choices: work with the city to build a public road; work together on their own to build a private road; or do nothing.

City Manager Paul Malone sent Coronado Hills residents a letter last month that said the vast majority of respondents had picked the third option. The rest were split between the other options, with 13 percent favoring a joint project with the city and 11 percent preferring that residents build a new road on their own, the letter said.

Malone said Wednesday that the outcome reflected what city officials have consistently heard from Coronado Hills residents.

Coronado Hills resident Debra Koechert said it was relief to know her family, which has lived in the area for 19 years, will not have to come up with money for the road.

"We won't be moving," she said. "We're just going to hope that it doesn't come down to really needing (the road)."

Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com.