San Diego, CA

Michael Smolens: Could push to change fire ratings spur development in hazardous areas?

Published

2 years ago

August 23, 2024

Michael Smolens: Could push to change fire ratings spur development in hazardous areas?

For years, California policies have sought to limit or at least discourage new construction in areas designated as high fire hazard zones.

When that hasn’t worked, the courts have stepped in. In San Diego, legal action and county reversals have stopped thousands of previously approved homes targeted for the region’s rural areas characterized by highly flammable chaparral and grasslands.

Just last week, a court again blocked the 3,000-home Fanita Ranch project in Santee. The judge concluded the city didn’t follow the proper procedure in greenlighting the proposal. But the larger context of whether the development would threaten habitat and put residents in the path of wildfires was motivation for the lawsuit.

When a bill to revamp fire-hazard designations surfaced in Sacramento this summer, critics said it could increase development in fire-prone areas, according to Hayley Smith of the Los Angeles Times.

Senate Bill 610 initially was an unrelated measure regarding the California Energy Commission that passed the state Senate and then was gutted and amended in June to become the fire-zone bill in the Assembly. Eventually, the bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, which means it’s dead for this year. However, advocates suggest the measure or a version of it will be back next year.

The main thrust of SB 610 is to do away with state rules that classify areas as “moderate,” “high” and “very high” fire-risk zones. That can influence development patterns and building safety standards.

Those categories would be replaced by a single “wildfire mitigation area” designation, which advocates say would lead to a uniform set of precautions rather than various levels that match the severity of threat under the current classifications.

The legislation also would shift responsibilities for maintaining fire safety standards from the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to the California fire marshal. The fire marshal would be required to review fire safety laws and update fire hazard and safety standards every five years.

State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant said the legislation will make communities safer and the process more clear, and that the single state designation would likely result in more areas falling under a fire hazard designation, not fewer, according to the Times.

Opponents disagreed.

SB 610 “will fundamentally reshape California fire and housing policy and make Californians more vulnerable to wildfire,” dozens of environmental and housing groups and local governments said in a July 25 letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders.

Among other things, they contend the measure would shift authority away from local governments and give it to the state — a common criticism of past state legislation aimed at boosting housing development.

While some supporters of the bill said it’s about fire safety, not expanding development, the short list of supporters on the bill analysis seems telling: California Building Industry Association, Housing Action Coalition and the pro-housing group YIMBY (“Yes, In My Backyard”) Action.

Environmental groups, the California Farm Bureau and city and county associations are among the 19 opponents listed.

The amended SB 610 was authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, who has carried some of the state’s most aggressive housing development bills in recent years.

The bill has become emblematic of the push-pull over development in Sacramento. Legislation also was introduced this year to limit housing construction in fire- and flood-prone areas.

Meanwhile, bills aimed at allowing more dense development along the coast — including bills by Assemblymember David Alvarez, D-San Diego, and Sen. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas — did not succeed this year.

Restricting development at the coast and on the urban fringe builds pressure to increase density in communities in between, where many planning experts say growth should be targeted to cut down on vehicle congestion and tailpipe emissions that contribute to global-warming greenhouse gases.

But in reality, residents in those less-restricted areas typically don’t want more development, and building enough housing to meet demand has proved difficult throughout the state.

Officials in some communities, particularly along the coast, welcome development limits. But others, like those in Santee, say restrictions make it more difficult to meet state housing goals.

Legislation to spur development comes amid an affordable housing crisis in California and skyrocketing prices of market-rate homes. In 2022, Matthew Adams, then-vice president of the Building Industry Association of San Diego County, gave his take on the consequences of actions that blocked developments in East County.

“Let me be clear,” Adams told The San Diego Union-Tribune. “This is going to have a devastating impact on our ability to produce middle-income or market-rate housing in vast portions of the unincorporated area.”

Some pro-development groups say advances in planning, evacuation strategies, fire-retardant building materials, landscaping and buffer zones have made some higher fire-risk areas safer for development.

Nevertheless, the increasing intensity of wildfires and the human and property destruction they have caused resulted in discussions going in the other direction. Should development be limited? Should homes be allowed to be rebuilt? Should a methodical retreat of existing communities from high-risk fire areas be considered?

In the end, what can be built and where increasingly may depend on whether state policies align with practices acceptable to insurance companies, which have been leaving California, in part because of increased wildfire risk.

Source link

Related Topics:-Columns Featured top stories sdut

Click to comment

San Diego, CA

Joan Endres – San Diego Union-Tribune

Published

6 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Joan Endres

OBITUARY

Born January 1939 in Cincinnati Ohio. Died February 14, 2026, in San Diego, California, with her sons at her side. Her beloved husband Dean passed away in 2010.

Joan was the only child of Thomas and Edna Palmer. In 1943, the family moved to San Diego, where Joan graduated from Helix High School in 1956.

In 1957 Joan married Dean Endres of San Diego, where they raised two sons. Joan followed her two great passions outside the home, the Arts, and Gardening. Both activities being a way to bring beauty to others and to the community.

Joan received a degree in Environmental Design from San Diego State University, and afterwords worked at UCSD, for the Campus Architect.

As an artist, Joan worked in various media, especially ceramics. She was active in many cultural and arts organizations, eventually becoming President of the Combined Organization for the Visual Arts (COVA). Later she turned to gardening, with the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca Community College and the Master Gardener Association of San Diego County.

Joan is survived by her son Jeff and wife Katrin, grandson Jackson, and son Todd Endres, all of La Mesa, and sisters Alice Buck of Phoenix, Elaine Kennedy of San Diego, Nancy and husband Don Jones of Vista, Eva Budzinski of Cloudcroft, New Mexico, and their children and grandchildren.

There will be a Celebration of Life for Joan in the near future. Those who wish to attend should contact celebratejoanuvart@gmail.com to receive details when they are confirmed. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully suggests a donation to the Water Conservation Garden or the Diego Visual Arts Network (SDVAN).

Source link

San Diego, CA

San Diego State moves back into NCAA Tournament field in latest ESPN Bracketology

Published

18 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

San Diego State moves back into NCAA Tournament field in latest ESPN Bracketology

The San Diego State Aztecs’ have moved off the bubble and back into the NCAA Tournament’s Field of 64 in the latest ESPN’s Bracketology projections.

The Aztecs must feel like a yo-yo, but now it’s in a good way. Bracket expert Joe Lunardi moved them from the bottom of the First Four Out — No. 72 — to holding the Mountain West’s automatic bid after an 89-72 home romp Wednesday night over Utah State, which had held the auto-bid in bracketology for a few weeks now.

Lunardi now has the Aztecs as the No. 11 seed in the West Region, with a projected first-round date against former MW rival BYU in Portland.

Lunardi wrote that SDSU’s auto-bid “shifts the entire bubble.”

Wednesday night’s victory not only pulled the Aztecs (19-8, 13-4) into a tie with Utah State (23-5, 13-4) atop the MW standings, but it was just their second Quad 1 victory in six such opportunities.

SDSU’s next two games are both Quad 1 chances, at New Mexico on Saturday and then at Boise State on Tuesday night.

The win lifted the Aztecs only one spot in the NCAA NET Rankings, to No. 43. Those rankings are used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for March Madness.

SDSU’s resume for earning an at-large berth has been on shaky ground all season, and was seriously damaged last week when the Aztecs lost at home to Grand Canyon and were then routed at Colorado State, both Quad 2 games.

SDSU’s best bet to assure a trip to March Madness for the sixth straight season is to win the MW tournament in Las Vegas and claim the automatic bid. That requires winning three games in as many days, and perhaps a third showdown against the Aggies, who beat the Aztecs 71-66 in Logan on Jan. 31.

Lunardi now has Utah State projected as an at-large team, but still with the No. 7 seed in the East, facing No. 10 Texas A&M in a first-round game in St. Louis.

New Mexico (21-7, 12-5), lurking just a game behind SDSU and USU, has dropped from the Last Four In at No. 68 to the First Four Out at No. 70.

The Aztecs were the unanimous preseason pick to win the MW regular-season title in their final season in the league before moving into the Pac-12 along with Utah State, Boise State, Fresno State and Colorado State.

Saturday’s game at New Mexico is set to tip off at 11 a.m. PT and will air on CBS.

Source link

San Diego, CA

Oregon State Dismantles San Diego 83-49

Published

1 day ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

The top teams in the West Coast Conference are jockeying for position in the standings as the regular season draws to a close, and the Oregon State women took care of business Thursday night, blowing out the San Diego Toreros 83-49 to move to 21-9 on the season, and 13-4 in conference play.

Oregon State’s Tiara Bolden Grabs WCC Honor After 44 Points Over Two Games

The Toreros have been a basement dweller in the conference for the last few seasons, so this result isn’t surprising, though it’s magnitude is a bit eye-raising. The Beavers wasted no time putting San Diego into a hole, opening the first quarter on an 8-0 run that Tiara Bolden and Kennedie Shuler getting involved early. Oregon State held a 14 point, 26-12 lead after one.

The second quarter wasn’t as lopsided, but San Diego wasn’t able to make much headway into the Beaver lead. Six points from Olivia Owens kept San Diego within shooting distance, but defensive pressure from Kennedie Shuler and strong rebounding from Lizzy Williamson kept the Toreros under control. Oregon State ended the first half up by 13, 40-27.

Oregon State Dominates Cougars in 79-51 Blowout

Oregon State tightened their grip in the third. While Olivia Owens and Kylie Ray managed to give the Toreros some hope early in the quarter, Oregon State went on a run late in the period to get their lead to 21 at the highest. San Diego finally snapped the Beaver hot streak, but a three from Kennedie Shuler ended the quarter in a 61-43, 18 point Beaver lead.

The bottom seemed to fall out of San Diego in the fourth, with the Toreros only putting six points on the board. Tiara Bolden and Kennedie Shuler kept the points flowing for the Beavers, while Lizzy Willilamson continued to dominate the boards. A layup with an and one from Elisa Mehyar were the last Beaver points of the game, giving Oregon State a 34 point, 83-49 win.

Oregon State Takes Down Portland 64-54 in Season Saving Game

It was a good night for several Beavers, with Kennedie Shuler once again leading the team in scoring. She finished the night with 22 points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. She can do just about everything on the court.

Tiara Bolden continued her hot streak with a 17 point night, along with four rebounds and four assists. Jenna Villa added 14 points, one rebound and one assist. Lizzy Williamson added another double double to her resume, with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Oregon State’s Winning Streak Ends With 55-51 Loss to LMU

There’s one last item on the agenda for Oregon State, a season-closing meeting with the Loyola Marymount Lions Saturday at Gill Coliseum. The Lions handed Oregon State their first WCC loss of the season back in January, so getting some revenge before the conference tournament would be a good statement from the team. Tip off is set for 1 PM PT.

Source link