Little new information was shared at a town hall hosted by La Mesa City Councilmember Laura Lothian about a proposed 18 megawatts battery storage facility, but it became a place for neighbors to vent frustration and fear surrounding the project. Comments from fire and city officials clarified why so little is known about the project: EnerSmart Storage has not filed any updated plans with the city since 2023.

La Mesa director of community development Lynnette Santos said city staffers had met with the company since it went before the Design Review Board but no additional paperwork had been submitted. No one from EnerSmart was present at the meeting on Wednesday, April 9 which filled Brew Coffee Spot to bursting.

Newly-appointed Heartland Fire Marshall Kenneth King emphasized that without an up-to-date technical report from EnerSmart with its hazard mitigation and emergency response plans, he could not speak to the safety of the project nor whether the fire department would issue a permit.

After lithium battery storage fires in Otay Mesa and Escondido last year, an outbreak of the difficult-to-put-out chemical fires was a chief concern of residents. These chemical fires send up toxic plumes and prompt evacuations. Residents are concerned about the site’s proximity to Murray Manor Elementary, a residential area, and shopping center. The site is relatively close to Lake Murray which supplies drinking water to the city of San Diego.

“I don’t care what the risk of fire is. If it’s even 1% you cannot risk the children at Murray Manor Elementary School,” said retired school nurse Tara Covington.

The long-vacant lot at 8135 El Paso St. is across the street from an SDG&E sub-station. Battery storage systems can help stabilize the grid, prevent outages, and allows renewable energies such wind and solar to be stored to be used during peak hours like when the sun is down in the evening, according to the EnerSmart website.

“I think the concept of battery farms is an excellent idea. I just don’t think they finished inventing them yet,” said Ray Abbott in the town hall. Even fire officials described them as a rapidly changing technology the department worked to stay up-to-date on. King said, “This technology is evolving very rapidly, so we have an outline in the fire code that we point them to for what the report should contain, and then we do ask follow up questions and ask for clarifying information based upon what we know at the time and what we’ve learned from previous incidents.”

Another resident, Teri Hoffman, started a petition opposing the project which has garnered over 1,100 signatures.

She is concerned it will decrease property values and raise insurance rates due to hazardous materials. Hoffman noted that battery storage systems in the city of San Diego require 100 feet of defensible space. La Mesa lacks such rules and is depending on flexible utility zoning regulations to police the project.

Residents fear the 22,000 square foot site may be too small for 100 feet of defensible space around 21 containers that measure 30 by 8 by 9 feet as shown in the Site Development Plan.

A proposed six-foot wall along the street would block views of the containers to aesthetically please while another wall would mitigate sound for the three neighbors behind the facility so it is within legal decibel levels.

To move forward, the project would need to pass muster with Heartland Fire and be voted on by the La Mesa City Council.

Top photo: (l to r) La Mesa director of community development Lynnette Santos, new Heartland fire marshall Kenneth King, Councilmember Laura Lothian and emcee Claire Strong at Brew Coffee Spot for the town hall. (Photo by Drew Sitton)