County approves Harmony Grove and Elfin Grove development despite residents’ concerns

The county Board of Supervisors Wednesday unanimously approved a proposed housing development in the communities of Harmony Grove and Elfin Forest.

They did so following a nearly four-hour hearing in which they heard opposition from some residents concerned about a lack of evacuation points during possible wildfires.

The board, though, also voted to require additional brush clearance at the development and directed county staff to look at options for a secondary access route.

The hearing featured nearly 100 people, many of them Elfin Forest or Harmony Grove residents who oppose the project. Many wore red T-shirts that read “Don’t Burn Us.”

Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer, whose district includes Harmony Grove, said that over the last year, she’s received “thousands and thousands of comments on this item,” focusing on safety and housing.

Supervisor Jim Desmond said that while the county is experiencing a housing crisis, the opponents’ concerns are understandable.

“I’m going to need assurances from our experts that the project being presented today in 2025 is still deemed safe,” he added.

On Aug. 22, the county Planning Commission unanimously approved the 453-unit Harmony Grove Village South project.

The Harmony Grove Village South location is a little under one mile west of the city of Escondido, south and east of San Marcos’ city limits, and north of the Del Dios Highlands Preserve.

The 111-acre project would feature single-family and multi-family units, 5,000 square feet of commercial/civic space, four acres of private and public parks, two miles of public multi-use trails and pathways, and approximately 35 acres of biological open space.

Along with approving an amendment to the county General Plan, the county Planning Commission recommended that supervisors adopt California Environmental Quality Act findings; certify the environmental impact report, and approve the site plan, tentative map, a zoning classification change and a major-use permit.

The housing and commercial project sits in an area where several wildfires have befallen the community –  Harmony Grove in 1996, Del Dios in 1997 and the Cocos Fire in 2014.

David Kovach, the Harmony Grove Village South managing partner, told supervisors the development protection plan “is the gold standard,” validated by qualified safety experts.

“Can we honestly imagine this team overlooking the absence of secondary access if it were truly required?” he asked.

Citing job creation, better commutes and more affordable housing, labor union members also supported the project.

Opponents said that the Harmony Grove project only has one evacuation point, and an emergency could result in possibly a thousand additional vehicles traveling on a two-lane road.

It was important that county officials learn from the devastating wildfires in Altadena and Paradise, said Nancy Reed, of the Elfin Forest Harmony Grove Fire Safe Council. She said the development fire protection plan was “deeply flawed,” and inadequate for residents.

“We are living in a new era of wildfires,” which are explosive, massive and brutally fast, Reed said. “We do not have enough heroic first responders or fire trucks to stop these monsters,” she said, urging the board to vote no.

JP Theberge, a member of the Elfin Forest/Harmony Grove Town Council, said in an emailed statement that the development “was grandfathered in under outdated regulations from before 2018.”

“Doesn’t it defy common sense for county leaders to approve a high-fire risk housing project that, under today’s regulations, would not be approved because it represents an entrapment risk to all the new residents and their neighbors? ” Theberge wrote.

In July 2018, county supervisors approved the entitlements and a final environmental impact report for the project, which was slowed due to a legal challenge.

In February 2020, a trial court ruling found that the EIR violated the California Environmental Quality Act, according to information on the Wednesday board agenda.

In October 2021, the Courts of Appeal sided with a portion of the trial court’s ruling, but reversed it related to the other concerns, including fire safety and evacuation. A year later, the trial court issued a revised order requiring the county to overturn the project approvals within 60 days.

Following the legal outcomes, supervisors in December 2022 finally complied, adopting a resolution that rescinded earlier approvals of the project.

There have been critics from outside the community as well. In a Sept. 25 letter sent to board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer, seven wildfire scientists and safety experts wrote that based on research, along with state and national fire safety guidance, they found “that the project would expose residents and surrounding communities to extreme wildfire risk.”

The authors cite three primary concerns increased ignition from new development, evacuation times that would exceed wildfire spread and no viable protection strategy if evacuation fails.

Updated 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1, 2025