Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the General Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Santee council adopts updated Safety Element, incorporates state environmental‑justice mandates
Summary
Santee adopted a General Plan Safety Element update (GPA2019‑4) to comply with state mandates including Senate Bill 1000; staff circulated a negative declaration under CEQA and the council approved the plan after discussion of disadvantaged communities and local priorities such as the community center and Big Rock Park.
The Santee City Council voted unanimously to adopt General Plan amendment GPA2019‑4, the updated Safety Element, and to adopt the associated CEQA negative declaration. The update responds to multiple state mandates and adds or revises policies on flood hazards, evacuation routes, climate adaptation, environmental justice and fire‑hazard mapping.
City staff and consultant Harrison Associates told the council the process began in 2020, included stakeholder meetings in 2021–2022, a Board of Forestry approval in 2023, and Department of Conservation review in 2024. The state requires the Safety Element update and specifically the incorporation of an environmental justice element under Senate Bill 1000 (SB1000). The city circulated a draft negative declaration for public review and received one comment letter that did not require revisions to the CEQA document.
Consultants described how the state definition of “disadvantaged communities” guided mapping and policy focus. The disadvantaged communities the city mapped are generally in the southern portion of Santee, west of State Route 67 and south of Mission Gorge Road, areas that include older housing and mobile‑home parks. Staff said the city received 121 responses to a community survey and hosted stakeholder and safety advisory meetings during the project.
Councilmembers thanked staff for the outreach and discussed localized priorities for implementation. Councilmember Laura Koval (District 3) emphasized the need to prioritize a community center and improvements at Big Rock Park — including a teen center and restroom overhaul that staff and council estimated would require significantly greater funding — while acknowledging the statewide compliance requirement. Councilmembers also discussed transportation‑related pollution near the 52 Freeway and Gillespie Field as factors that influenced designation of portions of the city as disadvantaged under the SB1000 criteria.
Staff recommended adoption of the negative declaration and the Safety Element update; the council approved both items. Councilmembers directed staff to keep disadvantaged‑community priorities in mind during future capital and park‑funding decisions and discussed whether more frequent internal reviews of the Safety Element would reduce consultant costs and delays in the future.
The updated Safety Element will be incorporated into the general plan and will guide subsequent hazard‑mitigation, park and facility planning and funding prioritization. Staff noted the state will update hazard maps over time and that the city will incorporate updated fire hazard severity maps by reference.
