North County Citizens for a Clean Environment

08/29/2026

The headline says it all: “Escondido Council Approves Costco Deal, but Mayor Calls It Very One-Sided.”

Credit where it’s due — the mayor was right to call the deal one‑sided. It is one‑sided. A below‑market lease on public land, years of reduced rent, and a massive warehouse + fuel station dropped next to neighborhoods that already deal with traffic and pollution from the mall. Families living near North County Mall will carry every impact of this decision.

But here’s the problem: after saying the deal was one‑sided, the mayor still voted for it. And so did the rest of the Council. They heard the concerns, acknowledged the imbalance, and approved it anyway — putting corporate interests ahead of residents and taxpayers.

Escondido deserves leadership that protects neighborhoods, not sweetheart deals for billion‑dollar corporations.

Escondido just approved its long-awaited Costco, but the mayor says the city got a raw deal.

08/28/2026

UPDATE: The City quietly approved a deeply discounted lease for Costco at North County Mall — just last week.

For a 160,000+ sq ft warehouse, comparable mall anchors typically pay $80,000–$120,000+ per month in Southern California.

But the City is giving Costco the space for about $8,300 per month — a fraction of market rate.

Meanwhile, nearby neighborhoods are being asked to absorb:

• 15,000+ new daily car trips
• Idling, v***r emissions, and benzene from a 30‑pump fuel station
• Late‑night truck noise and bright lighting
• Longer emergency response times
• Traffic spilling into Felicita, Bernardo, Beethoven, and Lake Hodges neighborhoods

We want the mall to succeed — and many of us shop at Costco — but a massive warehouse and mega‑fuel station next to homes is not what the mall was designed for, and it won’t help other mall tenants.

North County deserves transparency and fair deals, not corporate giveaways.

08/28/2026

More coverage on the proposed Costco takeover of the old Sears building — and none of it addresses what neighbors have been saying for months. This project isn’t just a store. It’s a high‑volume warehouse and a huge fuel station dropped right next to homes, schools, and senior communities.

The articles highlight how quickly the city is moving this forward, but they barely touch the real‑world impacts:
• Traffic gridlock at Via Rancho Parkway
• Delivery trucks day and night
• Gas station fumes and air quality issues
• Noise and congestion spilling directly into nearby neighborhoods
• Safety concerns for families who rely on already‑strained roads

Residents around the mall aren’t getting a “convenience.” They’re getting a permanent traffic and pollution generator in their backyard — while Costco gets a bargain lease on public land.

Escondido needs to stop prioritizing corporate deals over the people who actually live here!

The retail giant will take over the former home of Sears at the North County Mall off Interstate 15.

08/26/2026

Escondido just pushed the Costco lease at the old Sears building even closer to approval — and the details are worse every time we learn more. According to new reporting, the city is preparing to hand over a massive, freeway‑adjacent property for far below market rate, plus years of reduced rent. That’s corporate welfare, plain and simple.

Costco is a multibillion‑dollar corporation. Families and small businesses around the mall pay full freight. Why is the city giving away public land at a discount while residents deal with rising costs and shrinking services?

And let’s be honest: the people who live near the mall — seniors, families, long‑time homeowners — will carry the impacts. More traffic, more noise, more pollution, more congestion at an already strained interchange. The city keeps calling this an “economic boost,” but the only thing being boosted is Costco’s bottom line.

Escondido deserves better than sweetheart deals for giant corporations.

08/24/2026

Neighbors in Escondido are now facing another major land‑use push — this time a plan to annex county land for a 140‑home development between Idaho Ave and Birch Ave. Residents just outside the city limits are organizing under “Protect Rural Escondido” after learning their quiet, rural neighborhood could be absorbed into the city and transformed with dense two‑story housing. They’re raising concerns about traffic, loss of rural character, and whether Escondido should be expanding into unincorporated areas at all.

Developers are pitching the project as “attainable housing,” but homes are expected to land in the high $700k range, and neighbors say the density doesn’t fit the area. The City Council already cleared the way for annexation back in 2024, but LAFCO still has to weigh in — and residents are showing up, signing petitions, and pushing back.

This is happening at the same time the city is advancing the proposed Costco at the North County Mall, so it’s important to keep an eye on how these projects together could reshape the area.

Developers say the two-story homes on 17 acres currently just outside Escondido would help the city with its housing needs.

08/08/2026

Escondido residents — an important decision is coming up. The City Council will vote this Wednesday, August 12 on whether to lease City‑owned land at the North County Mall to Costco for a new warehouse and fuel station.

This vote is ONLY about the land lease. It is not project approval, construction permits, or environmental review. Any actual development will still require full public hearings, and the community can request a complete Environmental Impact Report (EIR) during that process.

Why people are concerned:
The proposed lease gives Costco a major freeway‑adjacent parcel for only $100,000 a year, with up to 36 months of free rent. This is public land, and many feel the deal amounts to corporate favoritism and welfare at taxpayer expense.

If you care about how Escondido uses its public assets, please take a moment to speak up:

📧 Email the City Council: [email protected]
📧 CC the City Clerk (official record): [email protected]
🗣 Meeting: Wednesday, August 12 at 5:30 PM — Escondido City Hall, Council Chambers

Even a short emailed comment helps build the public record and shows the City that residents expect transparency, accountability, and a fair deal for the community.

BTW, its a little presumptuous and biased for our local paper to say the city is getting a new Costco at the Mall at this early stage.

Some things just take a little bit of time to come together. That appears to be the situation unfolding for a new Costco warehouse store at Escondido’s shopping center, formerly known as North County Fair. The Costco deal has been toggled on and off over the last year, but the latest development i...

07/27/2026

The proposed Escondido Ice Sports Complex next to Westfield and Kit Carson Park is raising real concerns for nearby neighborhoods. The Union‑Tribune reported that residents are already pushing back, and for good reason — this project would bring major traffic, noise, and parking impacts to an area that’s already strained.

Kit Carson Park is one of Escondido’s most important public spaces, and adding a large event‑driven facility right next to it will change how families, seniors, and youth teams access the park. The mall area is still recovering, and dropping a high‑intensity project into that corridor without real community input isn’t the right move.

If you live near the mall, use Kit Carson Park, or care about responsible development in Escondido, now’s the time to pay attention and speak up. The impacts here are real, and the community deserves a say before anything moves forward.

Save Kit Carson Park member says public should get a chance to vote on 14-acre plan

04/07/2026

Big news for Escondido neighbors: AES has officially withdrawn its massive “Seguro” battery farm proposal after months of community pushback and safety concerns. The project would have placed 220–230 lithium‑ion battery containers on 22+ acres right next to homes and Palomar Medical Center — one of the largest battery‑storage proposals ever floated near residential neighborhoods.

Residents organized, showed up, asked hard questions, and it worked. The application is now pulled, and the site is in limbo.
But this isn’t the end of the conversation. County leaders are still weighing new safety rules and buffer requirements for future battery‑storage projects, especially after several regional fires. Neighbors in the article make it clear: this is a welcome reprieve, not a final victory.

For now, it’s a reminder that local voices matter — and staying engaged is how communities protect their health, safety, and quality of life.

AES withdraws the Seguro battery plan near Escondido. Neighbors cheered, but the lot's future is undecided.

03/16/2026

We will miss having the library at the North County Mall but are happy to see they will soon have an improved forever home in our community.

Escondido library set to reopen downtown July 2026 with new teen and maker spaces.

03/12/2026

North County Mall is an important part of our community, and many residents want to make sure any new project fits well with nearby homes, schools, and local streets.

People who live closest to the site have been discussing a few key questions:
• How would a large warehouse and high capacity fuel station affect neighborhood traffic patterns?
• Could fuel odors, emissions, or lighting impact nearby homes?
• What would delivery truck activity look like during early mornings or late evenings?
• How might the project change the character and walkability of the area?

These are normal, practical questions for any community to ask when a major project is proposed next to residential neighborhoods.

If you live, work, or shop in the area, your perspective matters. To stay informed or join community discussions, email [email protected]