Fanita Ranch Project

Fanita Ranch Project

On June 11, 2025, at a regularly held public meeting of the Santee City Council, the City adopted Resolution No. 072-2025 certifying the Final Recirculated Revised Environmental Impact Report (EIR) (SCH No. 2005061118) including the Second Recirculated Sections for the proposed project, adopting Findings of Fact and a Statement of Overriding Considerations under the California Environmental Quality Act, adopting a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, and approving the proposed project. The proposed project has been revised from a prior application, which was most recently approved by the City on September 14, 2022. The earlier approvals and the Final Recirculated Sections of the Final Revised EIR for those approvals were subject to litigation and ultimately rescinded by the City pursuant to a September 2024 order of the San Diego County Superior Court, which found the deficiencies in the Final Recirculated Sections related to Santee General Plan inconsistency. No other deficiencies in the Final Recirculated Sections were identified. The Second Recirculated Sections of the Final Revised EIR include revisions to Section 4.10, Land Use and Planning, of the Final Recirculated Sections to correct deficiencies related to Santee General Plan inconsistency, as identified in the trial court’s 2024 ruling, judgment, and writ. The Second Recirculated Sections also include a new Preface and appendices, which consist of the trial court’s ruling, judgment, and writ and a memorandum providing additional legal support and analysis for the discussion found in Section 4.10. The project site consists of approximately 2,638 acres of land in the northern portion of the City. The proposed project proposes a community consisting of approximately 2,949 residential units under a preferred land use plan with school, or 3,008 units under a land use plan without school, including 445 units of senior housing, up to 80,000 square feet of commercial uses, parks, open space, and agricultural uses. Development on the project site would be clustered into three villages to designate approximately 63 percent of the site as Habitat Preserve. The natural open space outside the development areas would be dedicated to the City’s Draft Multiple Species Conservation Program Subarea Plan for long-term protection and management as a Habitat Preserve. The three villages are arranged around a central Farm to support farming and wellness as the theme for the proposed project. The villages would be defined by their location, unique physical characteristics, and mix of housing types and uses. Fanita Commons would serve as the main village and would include a mix of retail, residential, civic, and office uses and provide a strong physical connection to the central Farm. The Vineyard and Orchard Villages would include smaller mixed-use village centers that allow for neighborhood-serving uses, office space, and other community services and amenities, as well as a mix of residential neighborhoods. Separated from the rest of the development, a Special Use area would be in the southwestern corner of the site, which would include a limited range of uses due to geological constraints. The proposed project would provide a coordinated system of parks and non-motorized use trails that would connect to the three villages, regional trails, and open space. The trail system would connect to existing off-site trails in surrounding park and recreation areas. The proposed project would also improve and construct new segments of three Santee General Plan Mobility Element streets, Fanita Parkway, Cuyamaca Street, and Magnolia Avenue, and provide alternative mode circulation systems for bicycles, pedestrians, and low-speed vehicles. In addition, the proposed project would provide a comprehensive fire protection system including fire safety features and design measures that have proven to perform well in wildland-urban interface and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones. The primary features include ignition-resistant materials, fuel modification zones, multiple ingress/egress points, water availability, and fire response. The Santee General Plan identifies the proposed project as Planned Development (PD). At the June 11, 2025, Santee City Council meeting, the City also adopted Resolution No. 073-2025 approving Vesting Tentative Map (TM2025-0001), Resolution No. 074-2025 approving Development Plan and Development Review Permit (DR-2025-0001), Resolution No. 075-2025 approving Conditional Use Permit P2025-0001, Resolution No. 076-2025 approving Conditional Use Permit P20225-0002, and Resolution No. 077-2025 approving Conditional Use Permit P2025-0003.

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