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At its July 13 meeting, the Planning Group unanimously adopted a resolution advising the County of San Diego of the Planning Group’s serious concerns regarding the proposed Suncrest 230 kV Loop-In Project. The resolution recognizes the importance of electric reliability and safe infrastructure planning, while emphasizing that major infrastructure projects in high-fire-risk communities must be evaluated not only for regional grid benefits, but also for their long-term public-safety impacts on the communities directly affected. The Planning Group’s principal concern is whether the completed project would increase, decrease, or otherwise affect net wildfire risk, evacuation safety, firefighting access, aerial firefighting operations, emergency response, and public safety in Crest, Dehesa, Granite Hills, and Harbison Canyon. “Major projects in our subregion should be required to demonstrate they reduce wildfire risk, not just avoid making it worse on paper. Otherwise, each project becomes another ratchet upward in risk, and over time our communities are left carrying a greater and greater public-safety burden. In an area already more prone to wildfire than 99% of communities in America, that is simply not acceptable," said Planning Group Chairman Ron Nehring. The resolution advises the County that major infrastructure projects proposed in high-fire-risk areas should not be supported, approved, advanced, or recommended unless the applicant can demonstrably show that the project will reduce, rather than increase, net wildfire and public-safety risk to affected communities. The Planning Group also called for a detailed, transparent, and community-specific analysis of the completed project’s long-term wildfire, evacuation, emergency access, aerial firefighting, maintenance, and public-safety impacts before any final decision is made. The resolution further urges that temporary construction impacts be evaluated separately from permanent post-construction impacts. Construction-related concerns include road closures, lane reductions, equipment staging, excavation, traffic delays, school and work commute disruption, and temporary effects on emergency access. The Planning Group advised that any construction affecting roads serving Crest, Dehesa, Granite Hills, or Harbison Canyon should be consistent with the Planning Group’s broader position that access to and from these communities must be improved, protected, and made more resilient — not further constrained. PLANNING GROUP'S ROLE IN THIS PROJECT IS LIMITED. The proposed Suncrest 230 kV Loop-In Project is subject to approval by the California Public Utilities Commission. As a County Planning Group charged with advising the County of San Diego, the Planning Group does not have the authority to approve, deny, or impose conditions on the project. When a project falls outside the Planning Group’s jurisdiction, County policy limits the Planning Group’s role to advising the County of its concerns and recommendations. The Planning Group has now done so through this resolution. The Planning Group’s action at its July 13 meeting followed an extensive public briefing at its June 8 meeting, during which SDG&E representatives presented the proposal and answered questions from both the public and Planning Group members. Residents are encouraged to learn more about the project and submit comments directly to the CPUC. The Planning Group has created an information page with project links, public-agency resources, and step-by-step instructions for submitting comments. 
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