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October 31, 2026

San Elijo Hills Residents Urge City Council to Uphold Project Denial, Seek Additional Safety Assessments

More than 3,575 petition signatures and 300 opposition letters ahead of November 10 appeal hearing

SAN MARCOS, Calif. — [October 31, 2026] — San Elijo Hills residents are urging the San Marcos City Council to uphold the Planning Commission's October 5 denial of Ambient Communities' proposed San Elijo Hills Town Center Multifamily project. Ahead of the November 10 appeal hearing, residents are requesting current, project-specific assessments of wildfire evacuation, emergency access and traffic safety before any approval.

In front of a standing-room only crowd, the San Marcos Planning Commission voted 4–2 to deny the proposal following four hours of extensive public testimony last month. Ambient Communities has appealed that decision to the City Council.

According to community group Consider SEH Voices, the opposition petition now has more than 3,575 signatures, and more than 300 letters expressing opposition have been submitted to the City.

The proposal would place a 31-unit 5-story residential condominium building with 42 bedrooms, approximately 29,000 square feet and reaching approximately 64 feet at its highest point, on a roughly half-acre triangular parcel between San Elijo Road North and South. It is near San Elijo Elementary and San Elijo Middle School, within a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, along one of two principal evacuation corridors.

“Residents have raised specific questions about whether people can evacuate while emergency responders enter and operate,” said Janet Buxton, a long-time San Elijo Hills resident. “We are asking the Council to resolve those questions with current, publicly reviewed analysis before approving this project.”

Safety Questions Remain Central to Opposition

Residents' concerns include:

• Wildfire evacuation: Limited exit routes, neighborhood traffic merging onto shared roads, and residents' accounts of prolonged delays during the 2014 Cocos Fire.
• Emergency access and rescue: Whether responding fire apparatus can reach the site, position on sloping streets, deploy outriggers and safely operate aerial ladders, including access to the rooftop deck, while preserving space for evacuation.
• Traffic and pedestrian safety: Driveway visibility, school-hour queues, vehicle speeds, parking movements and children walking or biking near the site.
• Parking: The proposal's 21 on-site spaces and reliance on adjacent street parking, including overnight parking restrictions and emergency roadway clearance.
• Construction impacts: Potential lane closures, equipment staging and procedures for maintaining or restoring emergency access during a wildfire.

Residents Request Additional Assessments Before Approval

The community is asking the City to require and publicly review:

1. A project-specific Fire Protection Plan before entitlement approval, addressing the building and its surrounding conditions.
2. A quantitative evacuation assessment evaluating blocked routes, westbound-only and eastbound-only evacuation, neighborhood merging, simultaneous emergencies, school evacuation and incoming responders.
3. A fire-apparatus operational assessment addressing approach routes, grades, ladder reach and operating limits, outrigger placement, and available roadway space.
4. Independent review of current traffic, sight-distance and parking conditions, including school-hour queues and applicable parking restrictions.
5. A construction traffic and emergency-access plan, identifying temporary closures, staging and procedures if evacuation occurs during construction.
6. Verification of fire-flow and water-system capacity under relevant simultaneous firefighting demands.

Residents also urge the City Council to decline the proposed Class 32 infill exemption unless the complete record establishes that the project meets its requirements. They request additional environmental review under CEQA, including a project-specific or subsequent Environmental Impact Report if warranted, addressing wildfire evacuation, emergency access, traffic and pedestrian safety, construction impacts, cumulative effects and potential special-status species habitat.

“Building-code compliance and emergency notifications do not, by themselves, answer how this particular location will function during an evacuation,” Janet Buxton said. “The analysis should compare existing conditions, conditions with the project and conditions with feasible safeguards and explain the project’s incremental effects.”

Community Invited to Participate Respectfully

Residents are encouraged to attend the hearing, submit written comments and share relevant professional expertise or firsthand experiences. Organizers emphasize respectful participation and ask attendees to allow the applicant, City staff and every public speaker to speak without interruption. For community information and participation opportunities, visit SEHVoice.com or email ConsiderSEHVoices@gmail.com.

“Our community supports thoughtful development,” Janet Buxton said. “We want a decision grounded in this site’s actual conditions, with clear answers about the safety of existing residents, future residents and emergency responders.”