County to Approve Saddleback Meadows Final Map on June 24th – Attend and Be Heard!

by on June 23, 2025 with No Comments

THE DETAILS:
The project will be built on 222 acres of rolling open space in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (as designated by Cal Fire) at the north end of El Toro Road directly across from Portola Hills and adjacent to Hidden Ridge and the Vedanta Society Monastery. The environmental impact report was originally approved 23 years ago!

Fire Danger:
Given the increased population in the El Toro/Santiago Canyon corridor since 2002 (over 1200 new homes), the primary evacuation route is inadequate and hazardous. No current studies have been done on impacts on traffic, schools, wildlife, or greenhouse gas emissions. The effects of climate change have increasingly been recognized as issues of life- and health-threatening relevance, contributing to the frequency and ferocity of wildfires in the state and in this very locale. Should we just leave it to chance to see how this new development will affect safe and quick evacuation from the area in the event of a fire or other emergency?

No Water!
On top of all of this, the developer must build a one-million gallon water tank to serve the project. Yet no plans have been revealed as to where the monstrous off-site tank will be constructed, and no analysis has been done on the impacts of pipelines, grading, or construction traffic – or on the viewshed at the canyon gateway.

Contrary to Foothill/Trabuco Specific Plan
The urban-style development contravenes the first goal of the Foothill/Trabuco Specific Plan: “to preserve the rural character of the area and to provide a buffer between urban development and the Cleveland National Forest.” Simply put, this development does not belong here!

Saddleback Meadows during the Airport Fire, Sep 2024. Photo credit: Farh Semnani

REMEMBER:
Mark your calendar for Tuesday, June 24, at 9:30 a.m.  and plan to attend the hearing! If you can’t attend, send an email at least one day before the meeting to the Clerk of the Board at cob.response@ocgov.com.

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED:
Contribute to this effort by donating via PayPal donate button below or by check to Friends of Harbors, Beaches and Parks (www.fhbp.org), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which fiscally sponsors the Saddleback Canyons Conservancy. Mail checks to FHBP, PO Box 9256, Newport Beach, CA 92658-9256 (note Saddleback Canyons Conservancy in the memo line). We can’t do this without your support, so thank you!