Harmony Grove Village South: Third Fire Safety Lawsuit

Third Lawsuit in Two Months Challenges Decade-Old Fire Analysis

The latest legal challenge, filed in late December 2025 by the Elfin Forest/Harmony Grove Town Council and Endangered Habitats League, specifically targets San Diego County's October 2025 Board of Supervisors approval of the 111-acre, 453-unit Harmony Grove Village South development. According to KPBS reporting, the lawsuit contends that county supervisors approved the development while relying on a decade-old fire safety analysis that failed to account for modern, stricter wildfire regulations implemented after California's devastating 2017 Wine Country fires and 2018 Camp Fire.

The core allegation centers on what JP Theberge, Town Council Vice Chair, characterized as the county's failure to perform its legal duty: "The county cannot ignore modern wildfire realities or sidestep its own fire codes," Theberge stated in public comments following the lawsuit filing. The legal challenge comes just weeks after the Sierra Club filed a separate November 2025 lawsuit citing identical fire risks and greenhouse gas emission concerns under CEQA, marking the third major legal obstacle for the project since its original 2018 approval.

This pattern of escalating litigation creates a uniquely challenging environment for developer David Kovach, managing partner with RCS Harmony Partners—a subsidiary of Real Capital Solutions owned by billionaire and Mountain High Yogurt founder Marcel Arsenault. The dual-front legal battle forces the developer to allocate resources defending both fire safety adequacy and environmental compliance simultaneously, while construction timelines remain uncertain and financing costs continue accumulating.

For cash buyers monitoring Escondido and North County development projects, this litigation trajectory signals potential distressed acquisition opportunities if mounting legal expenses and timeline delays force the developer to consider strategic alternatives, including potential sale of project rights or adjacent parcels to recoup sunk costs.

7-Hour Evacuation Timeline and Single Dead-End Road Spark Safety Concerns

At the heart of both the December 2025 Town Council lawsuit and the November 2025 Sierra Club litigation lies a stark fire safety reality: the Harmony Grove Village South development relies on a single two-lane dead-end road—Country Club Drive—as its sole evacuation route for an estimated 1,000 vehicles during a wildfire emergency. According to independent studies cited by the Elfin Forest/Harmony Grove Town Council, evacuating the proposed development could take more than seven hours during a wildfire event, a timeline that fire safety experts consider catastrophic given the documented rapid spread rates of California wildfires in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones.

The evacuation concerns are not merely theoretical. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported a pivotal statement from Fire Chief David McQuead during a September 2025 community meeting: "today you could not pass that project" without a secondary road for evacuation purposes. This assessment from the region's top fire official directly contradicts the developer's position that the existing plan represents "the gold standard" validated by qualified safety experts.

The regulatory tension intensified when Times of San Diego revealed that CAL FIRE had noted the road already requires secondary access under current fire code standards, yet the October 2025 Board of Supervisors approval proceeded without an updated fire protection plan analysis. California fire code requirements established after 2017 generally limit dead-end roads in fire hazard zones to 600 feet for residential developments in Fire Safety Overlay Districts, with maximum allowable lengths rarely exceeding half a mile even under the most permissive jurisdictional interpretations.

Country Club Drive significantly exceeds these thresholds, serving as the sole access point for both the proposed 453-unit Harmony Grove Village South and existing residential neighborhoods totaling several hundred additional homes. For property owners living near the development site or along the Country Club Drive corridor, the seven-hour evacuation projection and regulatory non-compliance allegations create legitimate concerns about property value impacts and personal safety—concerns that frequently motivate sellers to seek quick cash exits before construction begins or litigation resolves unfavorably.

CEQA Violations and 2024 Climate Action Plan Policy Contradictions

Beyond fire code compliance issues, both lawsuits allege that San Diego County violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by approving the Harmony Grove Village South development without adequate environmental review under current regulatory standards. The December 2025 lawsuit specifically challenges the county's reliance on environmental analysis conducted during the project's original 2018 approval, arguing that supervisors failed to account for significant regulatory changes including the county's own 2024 Climate Action Plan (CAP) adopted September 11, 2024.

According to reporting by KPBS on the CAP adoption, the County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to adopt a Climate Action Plan that "aims to steer development toward more urban communities and away from car-dependent exurbs and areas at a high risk for wildfires." The plan directed staff to integrate a "Fire Safe and VMT Efficient smart growth alternative" that identifies appropriate development geography in unincorporated areas that are "VMT efficient and outside high or very high fire risk areas."

The Harmony Grove Village South project, located less than one mile west of Escondido in a designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, appears to directly contradict this fire-safe development policy adopted just one month before the Board's October 2025 project approval. JP Theberge's statement that "the county cannot ignore modern wildfire realities or sidestep its own fire codes" takes on additional weight when viewed against this policy contradiction—supervisors approved a 453-unit development in a very high fire risk area while simultaneously championing a Climate Action Plan that explicitly discourages such development patterns.

The CEQA allegations also cite the project's failure to adequately analyze cumulative wildfire risks given the area's documented fire history: the 1996 Harmony Grove Fire that consumed 8,600 acres and 100 homes in 24 hours, killing one man trapped in his car and forcing evacuation of as many as 3,000 people; the 1997 Del Dios Fire that burned 1,200 acres and destroyed homes; and the 2014 Cocos Fire that started in hills behind Cal State San Marcos, burning nearly 2,000 acres through San Marcos and Harmony Grove, destroying about three dozen homes and requiring evacuations that took more than an hour to complete.

For legal observers and real estate professionals, the CEQA violations alleged in both lawsuits create significant project uncertainty. CEQA litigation frequently results in years-long delays, additional environmental studies costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in some cases, complete project redesign or abandonment. This regulatory risk translates directly into potential acquisition opportunities for cash buyers with fire-zone expertise who can move quickly when motivated sellers—whether nearby homeowners, distressed developers, or landowners facing similar regulatory challenges—decide to exit positions before litigation resolves.

October 2025 Board Approval Despite Unanimous Community Opposition

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors' October 1, 2025 unanimous approval of Harmony Grove Village South came after a contentious four-hour hearing with close to 100 public speakers, the overwhelming majority of whom opposed the project according to multiple media reports. The vote breakdown revealed the political dynamics at play: Supervisor Jim Desmond made the motion to approve the project, stating "We can't fire proof an area, but I think we can mitigate it the best we can," while Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer, who represents the district where the development is located, acknowledged residents' concerns: "The core issue here is like, are folks going to be safe if there's a fire because we know there will, at some point, be a fire."

Despite these stated safety concerns, Lawson-Remer joined the unanimous vote to approve, disappointing many residents who had hoped at least one supervisor would vote against the project. The contentious nature of the approval was captured in dramatic fashion when residents shouted "see you in court" at supervisors after the October vote—a promise fulfilled through the subsequent November and December lawsuit filings.

In an apparent attempt to address fire safety concerns while still approving the project, supervisors added an amendment directing county staff to explore options to add a secondary exit route, though the directive carried no binding timeline or funding commitment. For property owners who attended the October hearing or followed media coverage, the disconnect between supervisors' acknowledged safety concerns and their ultimate unanimous approval vote created a perception of political pressure overriding fire safety considerations.

This perception, combined with the swift filing of two separate lawsuits by established environmental organizations, has created an atmosphere of uncertainty and controversy that real estate professionals recognize as frequently motivating property sales. Homeowners near the development site who purchased properties specifically for the area's semi-rural character and lower-density environment now face the prospect of 453 new units and 1,000 additional vehicles competing for evacuation access during future wildfire events—a scenario that predictably drives some owners to seek exits before construction impacts property values and quality of life.

Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone Development Faces Tightening Regulations Countywide

The Harmony Grove Village South litigation is unfolding against a backdrop of rapidly evolving and increasingly stringent wildfire regulations affecting all Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) properties throughout San Diego County. CAL FIRE's 2025 Local Responsibility Area Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps, effective August 30, 2025, significantly expanded areas designated as High and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones countywide, with many neighborhoods adjacent to open space now newly classified and subject to stricter mitigation requirements.

CAL FIRE's 2025 Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps show expanded Very High Fire Hazard areas in San Diego County

According to the City of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, if any portion of a lot falls within the VHFHSZ map boundaries, the requirements of Chapter 7A building code apply to all new buildings, additions to existing buildings, and exterior alterations to existing buildings impacting regulated building features. Additionally, Governor Gavin Newsom's February 2025 executive order mandated that Zone Zero regulations—which prohibit flammable items like landscaping within 5 feet of a home—must take effect by the end of 2025.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported in December 2025 that the city fast-tracked these new fire-safety rules for homes in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones, with full enforcement on new construction anticipated in 2025 and full enforcement on existing structures required within one year after the State Fire Marshal approves final requirements. Perhaps most significantly for property sales, California Civil Code 1102.19(a) established by Assembly Bill 38 requires that when selling a property in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone as of July 1, 2021, documentation of a compliant defensible space inspection must be provided in accordance with Section 4291 of the Public Resources Code.

Real estate inspection companies in San Diego charge $118 for these required defensible space inspections, and if the property won't meet compliance before close of escrow, sellers and buyers must enter into written agreements requiring the buyer to obtain compliance documentation within one year after closing. These cascading regulatory requirements create a challenging environment for VHFHSZ property owners who may face tens of thousands of dollars in fire hardening improvements—new roofing materials, fire-resistant siding, defensible space landscaping changes, and more—before being able to sell through traditional channels.

This regulatory burden has created a growing market segment of motivated sellers in fire zones seeking cash buyers who will purchase properties "as-is" without requiring compliance certifications, accepting the fire zone risks and compliance costs as part of their acquisition underwriting.

Developer's Decade-Long Legal Battle and Political Contributions

David Kovach and RCS Harmony Partners have navigated a complex decade-long approval process for Harmony Grove Village South, marked by multiple legal challenges, court reversals, and significant political engagement. The project's tortuous path began with an original 2018 approval by the Board of Supervisors, which was subsequently overturned by a 2020 court ruling that found the fire protection plan inadequate, ordering the county to reverse its approvals. That victory for project opponents proved short-lived when a 2021 appeals judge reversed the decision but demanded approvals be rescinded over carbon emissions concerns rather than fire safety issues.

The developer's persistence through this legal gauntlet has been accompanied by notable political contributions that raise questions about the relationship between campaign donations and development approvals. According to San Diego Union-Tribune reporting, RCS Harmony Partners' PAC donated $1,000 to the San Diego County Republican Central Committee in October 2018 when Republicans held a majority of Board of Supervisors seats, then pivoted to donate $15,000 to the county Democratic Party in February 2022 when the board had a Democratic majority. In 2024, Harmony Partners donated $35,000 to a PAC supporting former San Diego Mayor and supervisorial candidate Kevin Faulconer.

These bipartisan contributions totaling over $51,000 to party organizations and candidates positioned to influence development approvals illustrate the high financial stakes for the developer—and by extension, the mounting pressure as two new lawsuits in November and December 2025 threaten to further delay or derail the project. Developer Kovach's public statements project confidence despite the legal challenges. Following the December lawsuit filing, Kovach stated the project has been "thoroughly reviewed and repeatedly affirmed over the past decade" by courts and authorities, and that lawsuits won't deter development efforts.

However, the financial reality of defending multiple simultaneous CEQA and fire safety lawsuits, each potentially requiring years of litigation and hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, environmental consultants, and expert witnesses, creates a scenario real estate investors recognize as potentially leading to distressed sale opportunities. Developers facing protracted litigation with uncertain timelines and mounting costs sometimes conclude that selling project entitlements or related land holdings at a discount represents better risk-adjusted returns than continuing to fight multiple legal battles.

Cash Buyer Opportunities: Three Motivated Seller Scenarios in Fire-Zone Litigation Markets

The Harmony Grove Village South litigation creates distinct cash buyer acquisition opportunities across three property owner categories, each facing different motivations to sell quickly in the current fire-zone regulatory environment.

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