San Diego County BOS Approves 453 Homes in Harmony Grove Village South development After Developer's $170K in Political Donations

County Approves Hundreds of New Homes in North County | North County Daily Star

Board votes 5-0 despite warnings residents could be trapped. New homeowners face $10,000 annual insurance costs as traditional carriers flee.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY — The San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved 453 new homes in one of the county's most fire-prone areas Wednesday, following years of political donations by the developer and despite overwhelming opposition from residents, fire safety experts, and nearly 100 speakers who warned the single-exit development could become a "death trap."

The decision came after Colorado billionaire Marcel Arsenault's development company donated $170,000 to local political campaigns over two election cycles and offered an $850,000 "donation" to the fire district responsible for approving the project's safety plan.

The Harmony Grove Village South development will sit at the end of a single two-lane road in a rural area west of Escondido that has experienced 19 major wildfires since 1980 — an average of one every two years. The 2014 Cocos Fire destroyed more than 30 homes along the same road where the project will be built, killing one resident and trapping evacuees for nearly an hour while they traveled just a few miles to safety.

Political Money and a Grandfathered Loophole

All five supervisors voted for the project Wednesday, citing the county's housing crisis. But the approval rested heavily on three factors that critics say prioritized development profits over public safety:

Developer's political influence: RCS Harmony Partners, led by Arsenault, donated $170,000 to political campaigns during the 2024 and 2025 election cycles, including $35,000 to a PAC supporting Board of Supervisors candidates. The developer also offered the Rancho Santa Fe Fire Protection District an $850,000 "donation," which critics said influenced the district to waive its normally non-negotiable secondary access requirements.

Grandfathered status bypasses current safety codes: Because the project was initially approved in 2018 before updated fire codes took effect, it was grandfathered under older regulations. Fire Chief Dave McQuead acknowledged that under current fire codes, the project would not be approved without a secondary exit.

Official fire department approval: Developer David Kovach called the fire protection plan the "gold standard," pointing to sign-off from Cal Fire, the county fire authority, the sheriff, the Rancho Santa Fe Fire Protection District, and two fire safety consulting firms.

Yet residents told county planning staff they suspected coordination between officials and developers, with KPBS previously reporting that county planning staff were feeding fire officials talking points when presenting projects to supervisors for approval.

One Way Out — Or No Way Out

The development relies entirely on Country Club Drive, which crosses Escondido Creek via a bridge that will be widened from two lanes to three. As residents explained to reporters: "The problem with having one exit is that if that exit is blocked, everyone's trapped."

Fred Cox, the previous Rancho Santa Fe Fire District chief, reviewed the fire protection plan in 2018 and warned: "With only one way out, even though it is three lanes, when a fire bumps this roadway, the road will be unusable."

His assessment is supported by research. A 2016 California Polytechnic State University study commissioned by Cal Fire found that "simply adding an additional lane to the primary single access road for evacuation does not appear to improve evacuation time. Adding a true second access that is independent of the first offers a significant reduction in clearance time."

The Deadly Math

Independent evacuation experts hired by residents calculated a fatal timeline that directly contradicts fire officials' assurances:

Tom Cova, a University of Utah geography professor specializing in fire evacuations, estimated that evacuating the area with the additional development would take more than seven hours, with approximately 3,500 vehicles using the narrow 1.5-mile road.

Meanwhile, the county's own wildfire risk analysis estimates fire travel time from Escondido under average Santa Ana wind conditions at 1-2.5 hours, with fires starting closer to the development arriving in much shorter timeframes.

Leo Zlimen, CEO of wildfire evacuation modeling firm Ladris, showed supervisors computer simulations of a "fire that could happen" — not even an extreme scenario — that would trap residents before they could evacuate.

Yet Fire Chief McQuead testified to supervisors that evacuation would take only one to two hours and said mitigation measures including increased parking, increased water pressure, and a three-lane bridge over Escondido Creek offset the lack of a secondary exit.

The Backup Plan: Shelter and Hope

The fire protection plan proposes mitigation measures including fire-resistant materials and ignition-resistant construction specifically designed for shelter-in-place scenarios — meaning residents would be expected to stay in their homes during a catastrophic wildfire.

At a recent town council meeting, Chief McQuead reportedly told residents, "You better get comfortable sheltering in place" — a stark contrast to his public testimony about safe evacuation.

The area is designated a "Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone" by Cal Fire and is surrounded by approximately 15,000 acres of flammable open space. Major fires occurred in 1996, 1997, and 2014, with the community experiencing large destructive fires approximately once per decade.

The Insurance Nightmare No One Discussed

Supervisors said little about a financial reality that will shock new homeowners: finding affordable fire insurance in Harmony Grove has become nearly impossible.

Summer Light, whose house was the only one to survive in the historic Harmony Grove Spiritualist Association during the Cocos Fire, warned prospective residents at the planning commission hearing to budget $10,000 per year for fire insurance.

Many current residents cannot get fire insurance outside of the notoriously expensive California FAIR Plan due to being in a Cal Fire-mapped high-risk fire zone.

Major Insurers Fleeing Fire Zones

State Farm stopped accepting new applications for property policies in California in May 2023 and has non-renewed tens of thousands of existing policies. Allstate announced in November 2022 it would pause new homeowners, condo, and commercial insurance policies in California.

Since 2019, more than 100,000 Californians have lost their insurance coverage as private insurers pull back from high-risk areas.

Last Resort Coverage at Triple the Cost

The California FAIR Plan, the state's insurer of last resort, provides only basic fire coverage for four named perils: fire, lightning, internal explosions, and smoke. It does not include liability coverage, theft protection, water damage, or additional living expenses.

The statewide average FAIR Plan premium is about $2,800 per year — nearly double the $1,429 average for traditional homeowners insurance in California. However, premiums can range from $1,800 to $3,200 and beyond depending on location and property characteristics.

Four years ago, the average FAIR Plan premium was about $1,800 — meaning costs have risen approximately 50% since 2021.

To obtain comprehensive coverage equivalent to standard homeowners insurance, FAIR Plan policyholders must purchase a separate "Difference in Conditions" (DIC) policy from another insurer, potentially adding thousands more in annual costs.

Everyone Pays as FAIR Plan Struggles

Following the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, the FAIR Plan imposed a $1 billion assessment on insurance companies — the first such charge in more than three decades — which insurers are passing along to California homeowners through temporary fees added to insurance bills.

As of May 2025, the FAIR Plan has paid out over $2.9 billion in claims from the Los Angeles fires, spreading costs of about $60 per household statewide.

The FAIR Plan, originally intended as a temporary solution covering less than 3% of residents, has grown to approximately 5% of the California insurance market with more than 555,000 residential policies as of March 2025 — up 23% from September 2024.

Infrastructure: Promises Without Funding

The approved project includes some fire mitigation measures but no guaranteed secondary evacuation route:

The developer will widen Country Club Drive to three lanes at Harmony Grove Road and construct a new three-lane bridge over Escondido Creek, add fuel modification around the site, and increase water pressure for fire hydrants.

Supervisors added an amendment directing county staff to explore options for adding a secondary exit route, but Vice Chair Monica Montgomery Steppe stated any such route would fall on the county to fund, not the developer. This means taxpayers would bear the cost of building infrastructure fire experts say should have been required before approval.

The so-called backup route identified in the original plan is unusable. The dirt access road is blocked by a giant boulder, crosses private property where developers lack easement rights, and was described by residents as having "even more treacherous terrain" beyond the boulder.

Expert Warnings Dismissed

In a September 25 letter to Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer, seven wildfire scientists and safety experts wrote that based on research and national fire safety guidance, "the project would expose residents and surrounding communities to extreme wildfire risk."

Nancy Reed of the Elfin Forest Harmony Grove Fire Safe Council warned supervisors: "We are living in a new era of wildfires which are explosive, massive and brutally fast. We do not have enough heroic first responders or fire trucks to stop these monsters."

Several speakers referenced the recent Los Angeles fires, with Sierra Club San Diego Chapter Chair Lisa Ross noting the "colossal breakdown in agency functioning" during those fires and calling the county's dismissal of secondary exit needs "naive."

Nearly 100 people spoke at Wednesday's hearing, with the overwhelming majority opposing the project. More than 1,200 people signed petitions against the development, and over 180 written comments were submitted in opposition.

Seven Years of Legal Battles

The project was first approved in 2018 but blocked in 2020 when a trial court found the fire safety plan insufficient. An appeals court later reversed the fire safety ruling but maintained blocks related to greenhouse gas emissions. After the developer added affordable housing — about 20 units or 5% of the project reserved for lower-income residents earning no more than 80% of area median income — the project returned for final approval.

The 111-acre development will include single-family and multi-family units, 5,000 square feet of commercial space, four acres of parks, two miles of trails, and 35 acres of biological open space. Construction could begin following final permitting.

As residents told reporters overlooking the vacant land: "We don't want to die in here. And if we do, I want to make damn sure that everybody knows that the county Board of Supervisors knew that this was not a safe development."

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Sources

Primary Source Document:

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Fire Safety and Evacuation:

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