A proposal for a self-storage and recreational vehicle-parking business in Lake Elsinore that would be built atop an earthquake fault line is making its way through the city approval pipeline.

The Lake Elsinore Planning Commission in Lake Elsinore, Calif., has initially approved the proposed Lake Elsinore Storage and RV Center on the northwest corner of Palomar and Corydon streets.
It could become the first business in Lake Elsinore to be built on a fault line with city approval.

The commission voted 4-1 to grant Costa Mesa businessman Mike Dunn a special permit that starts the process of allowing the construction of a 217-unit storage facility on land that was originally slated for residential development.

Dunn must return to the commission for approval of an exception to the city code for how close the buildings can come to city streets before the plan advances to the City Council.

The 2-mile fault line runs down the heart of the 2.7-acre property covered with eucalyptus trees and grass. Lake Elsinore is a seismically active area with one fault line capable of generating a magnitude-7.5 earthquake.

While the unnamed fault has not generated any quakes, its presence on the land, according to the city code, renders it unusable for homebuilding and other businesses where people are constantly present.

The plans call for 61 RV and boat storage spaces atop the fault, but no storage units within 50 feet of the line.

Source:  Press Enterprise.com,  Lake Elsinore Planners Back Self-Storage and RV-Parking Business Proposal