A court turned back a blatantly illegal end run by the Santee City Council to exempt the Fanita Ranch project from voter accountability and state planning law. The site is rich in endangered species, coastal sage scrub, and riparian habitat, and would be irretrievably damaged by the development.  

With the backing of the developer, the City had adopted an “urgency” ordinance called the Essential Housing Program. Incredibly, it claims that a project that would change the City’s General Plan – and thus normally require an amendment to it – would automatically and conveniently be deemed “compliant and consistent” with the General Plan if it were “certified” under the program. The purpose of the scheme was circumvent a citizens initiative that makes all plan amendments – like the huge density increase involved in Fanita Ranch – subject to voter approval. For good measure, the ordinance itself was deemed exempt from CEQA. It is no coincidence that the City quickly certified Fanita Ranch under the program.  

An alliance of organizations – led by the local group Preserve Wild Santee-Stop Fanita Ranch and including EHL – went to court. The City claimed, without basis, that various state housing laws enabled the scheme. After lengthy arguments, however, the judge upheld the primacy of state planning law. The project, if re-approved by the City, will have to go before the voters. 

EHL sincerely thanks the Center for Biological Diversity which represented the plaintiffs.