Settlement Reached in Otay Village 13 Development to Reduce Wildfire Risk, Increase Biological Protections and Preserve, and Improve Mitigation for GHG Emissions

The Sierra Club San Diego Chapter, represented by Chatten-Brown Law Group, along with its environmental nonprofit co-petitioners and the State Attorney General’s Office, executed a settlement agreement with the developers of Otay Ranch Village 13 to reduce the project’s wildfire risk, increase protections for open space and biological resources, and guarantee funding for greenhouse gas mitigation. This agreement allows for up to 2,750 housing units to help ease the housing burden in San Diego County.

The Otay Ranch Village 13 project, located on over 1,800 acres near the Lower Otay Reservoir, was originally proposed with inadequate mitigation for impacts to endangered species on-site, wildfire and evacuation risk, and GHG emissions. When the County’s Board of Supervisors approved the project in 2020, the environmental groups sued the County alleging violations of the California Environmental Quality Act.
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Under the settlement agreement, the development will now be limited to a smaller footprint than originally proposed, which allows for the provision of nearly 300 acres of open space on the project site to protect biological resources. The settlement agreement further requires all buildings to be 100% electric and the developer to pay $15 million to a local GHG mitigation bank to reduce GHG emissions in the County. To address wildfire risks, the developer has committed to widening Otay Lakes Road at an earlier date, and installing fire safety and fire detection infrastructure. Dave Hogan, Legal Committee Chair of the Sierra Club San Diego Chapter, stated, “This settlement proves that we don’t have to choose between housing and environmental protection. It ensures a better balance of protection of our special nature with homes for people.”

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