Otay Ranch, the sprawling master-planned community in Chula Vista, has emerged as San Diego County’s best new home destination in 2017. However, a recent discovery underneath its latest neighborhood has some buyers thinking twice. 

KPBS is reporting that due to the detection of volatile chemicals and methane underneath the in-progress Village of Escaya community within Otay Ranch, government officials of the Otay Water District have halted the installation of water meters, making it so that homebuyers can’t move in as planned this month.

If properly dealt with, risks to human health and physical hazards would be considered insignificant for the future residents of Escaya, according to an August risk assessment report. Even so, that kind of issue certainly doesn’t sound good on paper to potential buyers. 

The issue was discovered by property owner HomeFed back in April and the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health was notified in June. Paul Borden, HomeFed’s president and chief executive officer, told KPBS that the gas and chemical problem “is going to be dealt with absolutely the way it should be dealt with. [The matter will be resolved] very soon.” He also told the station that buyers were alerted to the issue, though it’s unclear when.

Otay Water District spokeswoman Tenille Otero told KPBS that “the district is doing its due diligence to make sure that they’re evaluating the situation." 

In the meantime, plans to build an elementary school near the site are in limbo. The Chula Vista Elementary School District says their site has not been tested yet and that they are still doing their “due diligence.” They told KPBS they have no plans to halt the school.

The Village of Escaya plan calls for 992 single-family homes, townhomes, and condos to be built by Brookfield Residential, CalAtlantic Homes, and Shea Homes. Townhomes start in the high $300s while detached home sales start in the low $500,000s.

For more information on Otay Ranch, check out Neighborhoods.com’s spotlight on the community.