Palmer Lakes, 7.25 acres in East Elliott

A proposal to put 50-70 homes adjacent to the Weston subdivision in Santee faces several obstacles, but it's gotten by the first.

The Planning Commission voted 6-0 last week in favor of the initial step of a community plan amendment.

"It's going to be a heavy lift," said planning commission vice-chair Matthew Boomhower, adding that changes made by the developer before the meeting made it heavier.

"These are some pretty onerous additions that are being added to this initiation."

The 50-70 homes would occupy 7.25 acres in East Elliott, a 2,300-acre preserve.

It would require an amendment to the East Elliott Community Plan, detachment of the residential portion from the city of San Diego and annexation from Santee, which would have to agree with the plan, along with conditions such as public trail access and conservation benefits to offset the loss of open space.

If the amendment is approved and the plan goes forward, it would redesignate 7.25 acres in East Elliott, a 2,300-acre preserve where there are no existing homes, from open space to residential. The land, thick with native grasses, sage scrub, chaparral, oak and sycamore woodland is entirely within the Multiple Habitat Planning Area, slated for preservation.

The city of San Diego calls East Elliot "one of the largest and biologically most important remaining open space areas in San Diego with a number of endangered and threatened wildlife species."

San Diego at one time had plans for housing development in East Elliott, but in 1997 redesignated most of it from residential to open space. Under the current East Elliott Community Plan, only two homes could be built on the entire 29-acre subject site, a staff report says.

Although the area allows for "reasonable" development, the high fire hazard land doesn't fall within a Transit Priority Area or Sustainable Development Area and lacks utilities, which the developer is hoping would be served by Padre dam.

Palmer Lakes, the proposed project, could not exceed 25 percent of the 29 acres where it's situated, west of Santee and north of State Route 52 and the Mission Trails Regional Park. Otherwise it would require a Multiple Habitat Planning Area boundary line adjustment. 

The parcel was at one time going to be acquired by Castlerock, now known as Weston, a 430-home project  that required its own community plan amendment and de-annexation to Santee.

"We really look at this project as just kind of a logical extension and last phase of the existing Weston project," said applicant Dave Dildray.