An Emerald Hills resident is suing the city of San Diego over a housing development coming to his neighborhood. It\u2019s the latest challenge to the development in a years-long debate.<\/p>\n
Residents have been asking for a park on the hilltop for decades. Their appeal to stop the new development was rejected by the city council last month.<\/p>\n
The San Diego City Council rejected an appeal to stop a housing development from coming to the hilltop. The development relies on a now-repealed controversial footnote in city code.<\/p>\n
Kenny Key, who lives next to the lot, is challenging that rejection in a new lawsuit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s just a proud Black neighborhood that I grew up in,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel an obligation to stand for my community.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s a retired heavy equipment operator for the Department of Public Works, he said. He was trained by CalTrans and worked on a striping crew. In other words, he knows roads.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most important thing that I remember about that job was the emphasis on safety, public safety,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The development will add 123 homes to what the city labels a very high-risk fire zone. <\/p>\n
It relies on a 2019 footnote in city code that allowed for much denser development, but only in the low-income, Black and Latino neighborhoods in the Encanto area.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis project here is set to bring harm to this little micro-community,\u201d Key said.<\/p>\n