A community group opposed to the project is charging the city with violating the California Environmental Quality Act by approving the project on South Escondido Boulevard near Sunset Drive, by Hallmark Communities, without a 30-day public review period.
Planning officials for the city say the charges by the South Escondido Good Neighbors Coalition have no merit. State law requires that a state agency be involved in the approval process for the 30-day comment period, but no state agency has been involved, city officials say. However, officials for the group maintain the state Department of Game and Fish reviewed the site because of the site's proximity to Felicita Creek.
Since the stream isn't being altered by the project, the Department of Game and Fish has no jurisdiction, city officials counter.
The coalition has been fighting since December to stop or change the project. But the City Council approved the development last month, overturning a Planning Commission May 8 decision rejecting the project unanimously.
San Diego-based Hallmark plans to build the two-story units, priced at less than $300,000, claiming the project would provide affordable housing for the city.
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