Preserve Wild Santee v. City of Santee

A lawsuit filed in California Superior Court challenged the City of Santee’s approval of the Fanita Ranch project, a commercial and residential complex on a 2,638-acre site in a State-designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. In an earlier lawsuit, the court found that the City violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by failing to adequately evaluate the project’s wildfire and public safety impacts. This new lawsuit alleged that the City again failed to comply with CEQA, including by failing to adequately disclose, analyze, and/or mitigate the project’s greenhouse gas impacts and by failing to adequately consider impacts relating to wildfire and wildfire safety. The lawsuit also alleged that the City and developer unlawfully evaded a requirement approved by voters in 2020 that certain development projects require voter approval.