Overview

• Supervisors voted 5–0 to approve rezoning, permits, a site plan and the environmental report for 453 homes on 111 acres between Escondido and San Marcos.
• The plan adds a three-lane bridge over Escondido Creek, widens Country Club Drive, uses ignition‑resistant construction and increases hydrants and fuel‑reduction zones.
• The County Fire Authority and Rancho Santa Fe Fire Protection District approved the Fire Protection Plan, and a former Cal Fire director told the board the alternative measures meet code equivalency.
• Opponents, including seven wildfire scientists and more than 20 environmental groups, warned of extreme risk from a single practical exit and modeled scenarios showing potential entrapment.
• Rancho Santa Fe’s fire chief estimated a one‑to‑two‑hour evacuation, the developer cited multiple agency approvals, and the board also required annual brush‑maintenance reporting by the future homeowners association.