Santee moves to allow thousands more homes

Santee leaders have given initial approval to a plan allowing thousands more homes to be built in the city, as local leaders are under pressure from the state to increase housing.

The plan rezones more than two dozen areas throughout Santee. Combined with other changes, it could soon be legal to build an additional 2,110 housing units, though the move doesn’t mandate new development.

“We do need to grow,” Councilmember Dustin Trotter said during a public meeting Oct. 12. “We also need to do it effectively.”

The City Council approved the proposal unanimously. A final vote is scheduled for Oct. 26.

The move comes after last month’s vote approving about 3,000 new homes in Fanita Ranch.

While there is a concrete building plan for the hills beyond Santee Lakes, last week’s vote would only make it easier for developers to propose new buildings.

“We’re still not mandating that people build on these sites,” said Councilmember Rob McNelis, and officials stressed they weren’t forcing anybody to sell their land.

The plan would allow 1,228 “low-income” units, 587 for people with “moderate” incomes and 295 for those with “above moderate” paychecks, city records show.

Those numbers largely exceed the capacity required by the state program known as the Regional Housing Needs Assessment, or RHNA, officials said.

The excess will give developers and the city more flexibility when choosing where future projects should be built, especially concerning low-income units, according to Michael Coyne, who works with Santee’s planning department.

Coyne said property owners in the affected areas had been notified and most were open to the changes, though Vice Mayor Ronn Hall raised concerns that too few were aware.

Two people spoke in opposition last week. Van Collinsworth, who has challenged the Fanita Ranch development with his organization Preserve Wild Santee, said the rezoning proposal should be subject to voter approval.