Uncategorized – Save Mission Trails

10 years! Remembering our Victory!

Save Mission Trails, along with a strong coalition of environmental organizations in the San Diego area, stopped the Quail Brush Power Plant once and for all as CoGentrix withdrew its application on September 12, 2014, docketed by the CEC on September 17, 2014.

Power to the People! Ordinary folk can make bold progress when we unite for a cause. Remember when….

Citizens of Santee were alerted in January 2012 about a fossil fuel gas plant with eleven engines and eleven 4-foot diameter, 100-foot tall smoke stacks to be sited adjacent to Mission Trails Regional Park and near West Hills High School.

Photo of MTRP campground entrance with drawing of potential power plant added in background.

Joined by allies in Tierrasanta, San Carlos, Lakeside, Poway, and other communities, we made signs, banners, and t-shirts with our bright orange SMT logo, communicating widely our message to Stop the Power Plant.

We spread the word walking door-to-door, collected thousands of petition signatures, and rallied in the early morning at traffic-crowded intersections.

Group at civic meeting

We spoke up at town halls and civic meetings of the Mission Trails Task Force and CAC, the City of Santee, the City of San Diego, the County, and the CPUC, expressing our passion for the park and our concerns of fire hazards, zoning issues, noise/visual/chemical pollution, and environmental harm.

Speaker and child at podium at civic meeting

We shared information at EarthFair, Mission Trails Day, and Summer Concerts in the Parks, while growing our blog and writing letters.

SMT Booth at Mission Trails Day

With allies including Environmental Health Coalition, Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, and many more (see Our Supporters page), we spoke out.

SMT and Sierra Club members at council meeting

Memories! Enjoy the photos! Thank you, all, for an empowering experience.

Know that if needed, Save Mission Trails will act again.

SMT group - top of Cowles Mountain

Families at SMT booth at Santee Concerts in the Park

SMT EarthFair Booth

Excess power poster at EarthFair booth

SMT volunteers at EarthFair booth

Rally at intersection

SMT in Tierrasanta

First rally, Santee, California

SMT and allies at meeting

SMT at civic meeting

Crowded room of SMT at civic meeting

Rally before CPUC meeting

Crowd at rally

SMT cake

Victory! Denial of the gas pipeline

Spring Canyon on a Cloudy Day

Victory for Mission Trails Regional Park and surrounding neighborhoods! The CPUC voted to reject the gas pipeline on June 21, 2018.

The CPUC affirmed the need does not exist. Renewable generation is reducing the role of gas power plants. This historic decision clears the way for a brighter future. We applaud the CPUC for this decision.

The misguided project would have burdened local customers with higher energy bills. Instead, California is moving towards clean energy alternatives.

“This $2 billion pipeline would have been built on the backs of San Diego families who would have paid for it until 2063,” said Matt Vespa, staff attorney at Earthjustice.

Our neighborhoods are safer, our Southern California Gas Company and SDGE bills will be lower, and our park remains protected. A huge thank you to all the volunteers that made this a reality. Well done, SMT activists – that means you! And a huge thank you to the organizations, including Earthjustice, Preserve Wild Santee, SanDiego350, and Sierra Club, among others, that helped defeat this boondoggle.

SMT Upcoming Events – Join us!

It’s spring! And that means EarthFair in Balboa Park and Explore MTRP Day in east Mission Trails. Stop by our booths and say hello to Save Mission Trails volunteers!

EarthFair in Balboa Park
Sunday, April 17, 10 am to 5 pm
Kick off the day with the Children’s Earth Parade at 10:30 am – about 30 minutes long. Hang out by our booth for a great view! Or…have kids? Dress them as their favorite animal and join our contingent!
At the SMT booth (space #235 at El Prado East near the Natural History Museum), children can create a cool nature craft, and grown ups can view a map to find out about all the slated development encroaching Mission Trails — and what can be done to preserve our park, community, and the adjacent East Elliott area.
If you’d like to volunteer to help out at the SMT booth, please contact us right away at savemissiontrails@gmail.com.
Here is the EarthFair website with details, including public transportation and parking.

Explore Mission Trails Day
Saturday, May 21, 9 am to 2 pm
Look for the SMT booth in the East Fortuna Staging Area (formerly known as the Equestrian Area), which can be accessed from Mast Blvd at West Hills Pkwy.
Children can create a cool nature craft, and grown ups can view a map to find out about all the slated development encroaching Mission Trails — and what can be done to preserve our park, community, and the adjacent East Elliott area. Also, there will be free pony rides (until 12:30), a mini mountain bike track, a climbing wall, live animals, and other crafts and fun for children. Family events will take place throughout the park.
If you’d like to volunteer to help out at the SMT booth, please contact us at savemissiontrails@gmail.com.
Here is the MTRP website with event details, including a schedule, map, and parking.

Join SMT for BBQ and Blues at Santee’s Concert Thurs 7/16

Meet up with SMT volunteers for fun evenings of live music, great food, and free activities for families, hosted by the City of Santee and other groups on Thursdays in July and August. On Thursday, July 16, 5:30-8:30 PM, SMT will provide cake (first come, first serve) to celebrate our volunteers’ victory to stop the power plant, and we will rally support for continued protection of our community and parks. Music on the 16th is live blues, and Phil’s BBQ will provide food for sale, plus there’ll be a beer garden. As always at Town Center Park, there is plenty of space for frisbee, soccer, tossing ball, as well as jungle gyms and swings for the kids. Wear an orange shirt or hat to identify yourself as a friend of Save Mission Trails.
Band and food truck lineup here.
Location: Town Center Community Park East, 550 Park Center Drive, Santee 92071.
Directions here.

Ding-Dong! Quail Brush is Dead! “Undeniably and reliably dead.”

We did it! You did it! Cogentrix withdrew! All proceedings for Quail Brush Power Plant are terminated. We won!

With every letter, rally, meeting, and donation, we fought hard to protect our park, communities, health, quality of life, and the planet. Folks like you, of all political stripes, united and said NO to Quail Brush. We joined efforts with many outstanding organizations (see list of supporters) and became a formidable alliance. Our coalition said NO to an immensely expensive taxpayer-funded project for energy which the Public Utilities Commission ruled was not needed. We said NO to industrializing open space near Mission Trails Park, grading hills and destroying wildlife and tranquility. We said NO to an unhealthy polluting gas plant in a high-fire zone just a stone’s throw from schools, homes, hospitals, and neighborhood playgrounds. We said NO to more fossil fuel in Southern California. And we are saying YES to rooftop solar and community choice aggregation (CCA).

On September 12, Cogentrix requested to withdraw the application for Quail Brush. Docketed on September 15, 2014, the California Energy Commission ordered termination for all proceedings on the plant. Victory! Power to the People!

Our first mission is complete. Our second mission is to protect Mission Trails and the East Elliott open space area from future encroachment. Save Mission Trails will continue to monitor and to raise funds to make sure this never happens again. Stay with us. And THANK YOU for caring and taking the effort to keep our world clean and green.

Re-connect with SMT – now a 501 (c)(3) – at Santee’s Blues & BBQ on 7/17!

Can you imagine an 11-acre power plant stuck on graded hillsides in dry, dry chaparral habitat, spewing toxic fumes over our communities on a hot summer day? No Way!
On Thursday evening, July 17, Save Mission Trails will celebrate its new 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status and another year of successful volunteer efforts to say no to the power plant near Mission Trails Park, Santee, Tierrasanta, and other nearby communities. All volunteers and friends of SMT are invited to meet up at the high-energy Blues & BBQ Concert in Santee. The first band, Mercedes Moore Band with the Blues Diva, will ham it up from 5:30-6:30 PM, and the Bayou Brothers with special guest Bill Magee –winner of the 2013 Best Blues Band — will jam from 7:00-8:30 PM. Dancing at Santee's Park Families can enjoy the park’s swings, jungle gyms, and open space for frisbee, tossing ball, or soccer. Phil’s BBQ will provide food and drink, and there will be a beer garden, too. SMT will provide a cake – first come, first serve – for dessert! Wear some orange and come have some summer fun! Location: Town Center Community Park East, 550 Park Center Drive, Santee 92071 Directions here.

And remember, the fight to preserve the quality of life in and around Mission Trails Regional Park is ongoing. SMT is an all-volunteer effort that relies on donations to maintain the website, print flyers, pay legal fees, and communicate with the public at EarthFair and other events. A successful non-profit organization needs support. We appreciate your help – no matter how big or small – and your donations are fully tax-deductible. More info here.

Power Plant Application is Suspended for Second Time…and Continues to Fester

On April 24, 2014, the California Energy Commission (CEC) ordered that all proceedings on the Cogentrix application for certification (AFC) for the Quail Brush power plant bordering Mission Trails Park and Santee are on hold until April 15, 2015. While the plant cannot move forward for another year, (unless Cogentrix files a motion to revive the AFC sooner and the CEC approves this motion), no evidentiary hearings will take place this year that would have likely terminated this ill-conceived fossil fuel project once and for all.

Concerned citizens, including several elected officials, created a powerful response opposing the suspension and requesting the application be vacated, which was duly noted by the CEC. THANK YOU for your strong support. Community members like you are the David’s of this David and Goliath battle. The preservation of our beloved Mission Trails Regional Park and East Elliott Open Space area – and the health of our neighboring communities – Santee, Tierrasanta, Lakeside, El Cajon, Poway, La Mesa, San Diego – need your continued attention and diligence on the Quail Brush power plant issue.
STAY WITH US!

You can read the details of the CEC second-year suspension here. Or go to the CEC Docket Log and scroll down to TN# 202228. Letters of opposition, petitions against the gas power plant, and other important project documents are archived here as well.

Join SMT on EXPLORE MISSION TRAILS DAY in Mission Trails Regional Park
Sat, May 17, 2014, 8 AM – 3 PM
The Save Mission Trails booth will be in the East Fortuna (Equestrian) Staging Area near Mast Blvd. and Rt. 52.
Connecting Children with Nature is the theme of this year’s event. Explore Mission Trails Day activities include free guided nature walks, pony rides for kids, live animals and educational programs for all ages, food for purchase, a climbing wall, nature discovery stations, and more. Email savemissiontrails@gmail.com if you are interested in helping out on this fun day. Wear an orange shirt or hat to identify yourself as a friend of SMT.

Below are photos of the Save Mission Trails booth at EarthFair 2014 in Balboa Park.

securedownload-3 — Signing up to speak out against graded hills, fire danger, noise, visual blight, & pollution next to Mission Trails Regional Park

SMT at EarthFair 2014 — Learning about the continued threat of the 11-acre gas plant with 11 smoke stacks proposed in an open-space / residential zone