EHL was quoted on how local governments hide the risks of development in fire zones.
inewssource, an online publication, conducted an in-depth investigation (“San Diego officials said rural homes were safe from fires. They were listening to developers.” June 15, 2022) of how environmental impacts reports prepared by developers and rubber-stamped by local agencies deceive the public and put more and more people in harm’s way. The article reported on several dangerous projects in the San Diego area, and successful court cases against them––including cases brought by the State Attorney General.
Dan Silver, the CEO of the Endangered Habitats League, which has sued over rural development projects, said the result is that the environmental reviews sometimes don’t provide a full picture to the public – especially when local government officials don’t dig deeper.
“They do review these (environmental reports), but they don’t give them a hard look,” Silver said. “They don’t question what the applicant’s consultants come up with. They don’t do their due diligence and hire independent experts on things like traffic, on things like fire evacuation, endangered species needs and requirements. They accept whatever the developer puts in front of them.”
