SAN MARCOS (FOX 5/KUSI) — Plans for a proposed apartment complex in San Elijo Hills are raising concerns about emergency preparedness from area residents. A few dozen residents shared their thoughts on the project during a public workshop in San Marcos Thursday night. With recent wildfires in San Diego County and in neighboring Los Angeles County, most of the people who spoke up during the meeting said they are worried another development would mean more gridlock during an emergency. Popular North County pickleball facility forced to operate at 25% capacity over noise, permit issues The San Elijo Hills Town Center Apartments would feature 31 residential units, including six low-income units, made up of mostly one-bedroom and three two-bedroom options. Renderings show the three to four stories above a parking garage that would house about a third of the 33 parking spaces in the plan. The rest are on the street and on site.  The proposed project would be built on a half-acre parcel of land that sits in between San Elijo Road South and San Elijo Road North, which are the only two ways in and out of the area. Both streets are prone to congestion, which worsens in the event of an evacuation. Ed Philbrick and his wife have lived in San Elijo Hills since 2004 and have endured wildfires, including the Cocos Fire in 2014. "My wife and daughter were in their car two hours before they were -- let's say to La Costa," said Philbrick. He remembers just how hectic the roads can get in an emergency. "The fire department can’t even get through school traffic safely during those times," added Philbrick. The developer of the proposed project is working closely with the city and fire department. "The development that we’re proposing right now has the least impacts of any project that we could develop there," said Duncan Budinger with Ambient Communities. We reached out to the San Marcos city planner for comment and didn’t hear back at the time of publication. There’s a petition with over 1,000 signatures against the project and some residents are hopeful the city will take their concerns into consideration.  “We’re pushing the envelope in California where we’re trying to build where we just shouldn’t build," said Philbrick.