{"id":68,"date":"2019-11-12T16:35:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-12T16:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esconeighbors.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=68"},"modified":"2019-11-12T16:35:00","modified_gmt":"2019-11-12T16:35:00","slug":"23-environmental-climate-coalition-join-forces-to-oppose-harvest-hills-in-escondido","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/escondidoneighbors.org\/?p=68","title":{"rendered":"23 Environmental, Climate Coalition join forces to Oppose Harvest Hills in Escondido"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\nToday,
\nmore than 20 environmental, conservation, and climate organiz<\/span>ations sent a letter to the Escondido City Council<\/a><\/span> urging opposition to the proposed Harvest
\nHills Development. <\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nThe
\ngroups noted that, in spite of a new marketing position, the project formerly
\nknown as Safari Highlands Ranch is substantially the same when it comes to key
\nimpacts, namely location in a high-risk fire zone, high evacuation hazards for
\nnew and existing residents, and thousands of new cars on the roads in already
\ntraffic constrained areas. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nThe
\ngroups noted that, in spite of a new marketing position, the project formerly
\nknown as Safari Highlands Ranch is substantially the same when it comes to key
\nimpacts, namely location in a high-risk fire zone, high evacuation hazards for
\nnew and existing residents, and thousands of new cars on the roads in already
\ntraffic constrained areas.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nAlso
\nof concern are traffic and long-term climate impacts from the addition of
\n67,000 daily<\/b> vehicle miles traveled in a time when we need to be
\nreducing VMT in order to comply with climate protection goals. The destruction
\nof critical habitat areas key for successful adopted and proposed Habitat Management
\nplans are also a significant impact.  <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nFire
\nis one serious concern. Dan Silver, Director of Endangered Habitats League
\nsaid, \u201cExperts have shown that this
\nproject cannot be safely evacuated if threatened by a fast-moving wildfire, and
\nit will endanger the ability of the surrounding community to evacuate as
\nwell.  <\/span>Elected officials need to
\nprioritize public safety and not create a fire trap.\u201d<\/i><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nGeorge
\nCourser, Conservation Chair of the San Diego Sierra Club stated, \u201cThis sprawl
\nproject is one of the worst we have seen proposed. This area is more
\nappropriate as key wildlife habitat for local adopted conservation plans. As
\nthe state burns, we hope the elected officials will search their conscience
\nbefore locating more housing in an extreme fire risk area.\u201d <\/i> <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nSpeaking
\non the relationship of development and climate impacts, Sophie Wolfram of the
\nClimate Action Campaign stated, <\/span>“Sprawl
\ndevelopment is one of the key culprits driving the climate crisis. At a time
\nwhen we have to be doing everything in our power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
\ndenying this project, which will vastly increase vehicle trips and tailpipe
\nemissions, is just a no-brainer.”<\/span><\/i><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nThe groups call out the fact
\nthat the change in marketing of an old proposal fails to address the
\nfundamental concerns. \u201cSafari Highlands Ranch may have a new name but it
\nremains the embodiment of reckless urban sprawl and the antithesis of Smart Growth.
\nWhen we know better, we must do better. Bottom line: Harvest Hills is the Wrong
\nPlan in the Wrong Place,\u201d<\/i> said <\/span>NeySa Ely, President of the San Pasqual Valley Preservation
\nAlliance, a local community group.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nThe
\norganizations signed on to the letter include Sierra Club San Diego, Endangered
\nHabitats League, San Pasqual Valley Preservation Alliance, Escondido Neighbors
\nUnited, Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation, Environmental Center of San Diego,
\nSan Diego Audubon Society, Preserve Calavera, San Diego Democrats for Environmental
\nAction, California Chaparral Institute, Buena Vista Audubon Society, Southwest
\nWetlands Interpretive Association, California Native Plant Society, Friends of
\nRose Creek, Friends of Agua Hedionda Creek, Escondido Chamber of Citizens,
\nEndangered Habitats Conservancy, San Diego Coastkeeper, Climate Action
\nCampaign, North County Climate Action Alliance,<\/i> The Chaparral Lands
\nConservancy, Palomar Audubon Society, and San Diego 350.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n###<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, more than 20 environmental, conservation, and climate organizations sent a letter to the Escondido City Council urging opposition to the proposed Harvest Hills Development.  The groups noted that, in spite of a new marketing position, the project formerly known as … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Escondido Neighbors United","author_link":"https:\/\/escondidoneighbors.org\/?author=1"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/escondidoneighbors.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/escondidoneighbors.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/escondidoneighbors.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/escondidoneighbors.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/escondidoneighbors.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=68"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/escondidoneighbors.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/escondidoneighbors.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=68"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/escondidoneighbors.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=68"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/escondidoneighbors.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=68"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}