As county firefighters prepare to head into the thick of the 2009 fire season, the county Board of Supervisors is about to vote on a proposal that threatens the fire safety of future generations. Submitted by the county Department of Planning and Land Use, it would strip fire districts of the approval authority they now hold over proposed land-use projects' Fire Protection Plans.
This proposal is an attempt by county planners to clear the way for the eventual land use approval of one of the most unsafe developments ever proposed in the county.
That project is called Merriam Mountains, a 2,327-acre development proposed for the northwestern corner of Interstate 15 on Deer Springs Road in the unincorporated portion of the county. Merriam Mountains will bring nearly 3,000 homes to a rural area that is zoned for only 345 homes in the General Plan and only 64 homes in the General Plan Update. The project will strain fire safety resources and lengthen response times for everyone in the area, consume more than 1 million gallons of water each day and add more than 35,000 daily trips to our roads and freeways.
At 9 a.m. today, the Board of Supervisors will consider an amendment to language in the General Plan that would allow approval of land-use projects that do not have the approval of a local fire protection district. The county fire code and the consolidated fire code quite clearly mandate that a local fire agency is the "fire authority having jurisdiction" for new developments in its district, and these fire protection districts must approve a fire protection plan.
If you wish to protest this action, arrive 15 minutes early to get a form to register as a speaker. The supervisors meet at the County Administration Building, 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 310, San Diego.
In the case of Merriam Mountains, the Deer Springs Fire Protection District has rejected this project in its district because of its failure to include an adequate fire protection plan and lack of any plan for emergency evacuation in a very high-fire severity zone. The fire district has said that if a Santa Ana winds-driven wildfire broke out, it would result in a problematic evacuation for not only for the residents of Merriam Mountains, but also for the residents of surrounding communities.
The Coalition for Wildfire Safety calls on the Board of Supervisors to set this proposal aside and continue with requiring the local fire authority -- in this case, the fire protection district -- to approve the fire protection plans for new developments. Leave the fire safety authority to the experts -- the fire chiefs, firefighters and fire protection districts -- not the politicians and county bureaucrats.
RICHARD COFFMAN of Escondido is the chairman of the Coalition for Wildfire Safety.
