You can fight city hall.  That was the message a small but vocal group was celebrating at the San Diego County Administration Building Friday as the Planning Commission agreed to make changes to a massive power project planned for the tiny community of Boulevard in far east San Diego County. The Starlight Solar Project is a proposed 588-acre development made up of solar panels, underground transmission lines and a battery storage facility.  Although many residents of Boulevard agree that clean energy sources are needed, they also say they’ve had more than their fair share of power projects from the Sunrise Powerlink to solar and wind farms. “The community has never really benefitted from the projects, and also they’re dangerous,” said Murphy Smith, a resident of Boulevard for more than 30 years. Most of the people who live in Boulevard enjoy the blue skies and wildlife that surrounds them.  Many never bargained for the big clean energy projects that have changed the landscape. The area is plagued with high winds and residents are concerned about increased fire danger, especially with the addition of the battery storage facility which, if burning, would emit toxic fumes toward their homes and evacuation areas. Dozens of residents spoke before the county planning commission saying they don’t want the facility at all, but if they have to build it in Boulevard, residents asked for safety precautions. “We’re asking they move the dangerous parts of it away from homes,” said Smith, who wanted the project developers to move the battery storage facility closer to the border fence and away from where people live. “As much as most residents don’t want it there, we’re willing to have it there if they meet these demands. We have requests that we think are reasonable,” Smith added. One other such request is that workers building the facility work to keep the dust from becoming airborne by using mitigation measures. Smith’s group also wanted more community control over the $7-million improvement fund being offered by the developer. The planning commission agreed the requests were reasonable, amending the proposal to reflect the changes before unanimously approving it. Both sides declared victory.  “We think that maybe we’ve found the magic balance,” said developer Jim Whalen, who said people will get the power they need while the community of Boulevard will get the incentives it needs to let the project move forward. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors will have the final say on whether the project will be built. ...read more read less