In the wake of two serious battery storage fires — one in Otay Mesa and another in Escondido — the Poway City Council on Tuesday night gave the green light to building another such facility in its community.
By a unanimous vote, the city council approved the second reading of Ordinance 8-71. It changes the land use designation at Kirkham Way near Beeler Canyon Road. The change makes way for the battery storage facility known as “Nighthawk” to be built there.
Residents living near the business park, where the Nighthawk battery storage facility is slated to be built, walked away from the nearly packed house at Tuesday’s regular city council meeting feeling disappointed and uncertain about their futures and safety of their families.
It was an emotional 90 minutes as homeowner after homeowner was applauded for sharing their grave concerns about the facility.
“It’s just a bad situation to put a fire hazard in a high …