This is an updated article from one I wrote in 2018 after a hotly contested plan to increase the density of land use on Calzada del Bosque and Via de la Valle was denied by the RSF Association. It looks like we’re here again. But this time it’s even bigger – Editors
Several years ago, I got off my father’s New Year’s conference call to clients, where he described the pattern of income and population migration from high-tax states to low-tax states. That, coupled with the mandates of Covid over the past several years, have our fellow residents packing up their wagons and galloping toward the unbridled and vast natural landscapes of Texas and Wyoming. There is something quite magical about these places beyond the after-tax bang for your buck. It’s all that space. That wide open space that seems to stretch infinitely onward. You just want to close your eyes and take a deep yogic breath visualizing it. I mean, who hasn’t fantasized about riding off into the sunset with a steely-eyed Clint glint in one’s eye and the grit and glory of a settler’s frame of mind — boundless and free. It almost makes you want to learn how to spit dip and scowl.
In a world of growing densification, space is indeed the most covetable. We here in the Ranch are so very blessed with such vast pastoral beauty, where one can actually saddle up one’s horse in the back yard and giddy up across endless trails like Eastwood himself (keep the six shooter and the snarl at home please). The Covenant’s iconic rural setting must not only be enjoyed by its residents, but protected by them. We must be vigilant in ensuring that our ambrosial slice of manna is not nibbled on to eventually be swallowed whole.
High-Density Floodgates Open Again
Consider the high-density projects Association members went to battle against over the past 15 years. Two attempts by different developers were made on the 28-acre parcel at the corner of Calzada del Bosque and Via De La Valle. In 2006, known then as the Mabee Property, or Rancho Librado, the proposed development asked for 55 casitas on 28 acres. Rancho Librado’s developers sought County modifications so that they could densify the 28 acres of the Mabee Trust’s Covenant property by 400 percent. The proposed project was put on hold at the County level for over two years due to a lawsuit filed against the RSFA by the Mabee Trust, which claimed the Association, who eventually did not approve the project, had once tacitly supported Rancho Librado, even though the Board vehemently denied it.
The Mabee Trust lost its initial lawsuit, and the Court of Appeals decision meant that it lost on appeal as well, and was obligated to reimburse the RSFA (and indirectly its members whose dues were paying for the lawsuit defense) the full cost of its lawsuit. This was of course a huge win for the Ranch, as it kept the floodgates sealed shut (temporarily) from future projects with similar designs to densify and change our pastoral landscape.
Rental Apartments, Not Step-Down Housing
Fast forward to today. AmeriCare Health and Retirement is proposing to develop its fourth Silvergate Retirement Residence and Memory Care facility on the old Mabee property. AmeriCare owns three other retirement communities in Rancho Bernardo, Fallbrook, and San Marcos, including commercial medical office buildings in Encinitas and Vista.
This is not step-down housing for retirees who want to downsize their large homes with the purchase of a smaller townhome or casita. Instead it is a 162-unit rental housing project with 44 two-bedroom twin homes, 94 two-bedroom rental apartments, and 24 memory care rooms – housing up to 300 people. David Petree, the owner of AmeriCare, purchased the property in 2021 and is hoping to have Art Jury and Board approval by the end of this year with a three-year construction phase beginning in 2025.
Mr. Petree has been on a three-year campaign to curry favor with Association members and decision makers. He says Silvergate will bring in new assessments of $150,000 annually to the Association, and points to another wave of increased assessments when long-time Covenant homeowners, protected by Prop. 13, sell their under-assessed home to move into Silvergate. It’s a bit of a stretch, but a good P.R. move for an Association needing to replenish its coffers. In fact, Petree has been a one-man public relations show, hosting meetings, cocktail parties at the Golf Club, and frequenting the RSF Senior Center, Board and Art Jury meetings. His pitch is that Silvergate is a needed amenity in order to provide senior housing to Ranch residents, because, he claims, people “can’t retire in Rancho Santa Fe.” Seriously? The majority of RSF residents are retired, and now, with the California ADU laws, properties are being developed with an additional 1,200 feet of accessory dwellings to house aging parents — or themselves. Members are creating their own multi-generational housing compounds.
Could Four Lanes Be in Our Future?
One thing that people are not considering is the fact that there have been serious discussions by the County over the years to four-lane the Del Dios corridor from Escondido to the end of Via de la Valle and significantly widen neighborhood Ranch roads, such as El Camino del Norte, La Noria/El Camino Real, and La Granada/Los Morros/La Bajada. Once upon a time there were efforts to build highways that would relieve congestion and circumvent the creation of major thoroughfares straight through the RSF village and our small community lanes, but it never happened. Ever since, the County Board of Supervisors has been chomping at the bit for an excuse to make our pastoral Ranch a carbon dioxide pit stop for the East by turning the above roads into wide, pulsing arteries coagulated by a continuous flow of cars. Developments like Silvergate, not to mention the proposed Surf Cup Sports Complex, will likely give the County its much-awaited mitigating circumstances to chew up our town and spit out four-lane highways. This is not chicken-little conjecture. It is very real.
The point here is not to vilify developers. Progress inherently requires change. But while the Wild West sounds fun and all, a few ground rules help protect the peace. Our peace. Right here in the Ranch. There’s a reason why something like 90% of Jackson Hole is protected land. It causes all sorts of housing issues and the like, but it preserves the integrity and the character of what makes that town so very special. And those low taxes are indeed a thing to behold. Pause for meditative yogic breathing here.
Will the RSFA Board Step in Again?
The RSFA Board had a window of opportunity to put measures in place to protect itself from being strong-armed by developers who are using County amendments and Sacramento’s housing incentives to bypass Covenant restrictions. Specifically, an amendment to Covenant bylaws could have been implemented so that any changes to zoning, General Plan amendments, annexation/de-annexation, or cluster housing efforts within the Covenant boundaries must receive the currently required 2/3 approval of 500-foot radius neighbors, and additionally to require the approval of at least 2/3 majority of all Covenant members. The Mabee land is equestrian land and lists a “boarding house” as one of the approved uses. This was probably to lodge horse trainers and grooms. Will AmeriCare point to a “boarding house” as a loose interpretation for it’s multi-unit housing project?
Mr. Petree insists the cluster housing development project will not require an amendment to San Diego County’s General Plan. However, the Protective Covenant governing documents require Art Jury and subsequent Board approval in order for the Silvergate development to move forward. Last year, a petition with about 130 signatures was submitted to the Association Board of Directors asking for a Land Use attorney to investigate whether such a high-density development can be built in the low-density zoned area of the Covenant. The Board said that since Silvergate had not yet submitted their project to the Art Jury, they were advised not to act. Mr. Petree said he will be submitting plans to the Art Jury in October.
Densification Can’t Be Undone
Perhaps the key component to keep in mind is that once this type of high-density project is approved and in place, any developer could use that precedent for additional subdivisions and densification within the Covenant. Densification can’t be undone. With so much at stake, the Ranch should not just “monitor” events or react to them, but be proactive and prepare for them. We have nothing to lose but everything.
To provide member input, please weigh in with your elected Board by emailing them at: clebeau@rsfaboard.com; ptrubey@rsfaboard.com; sthurman@rsfaboard.com; dgamboa@rsfaboard.com; jsimmons@rsfaboard.com; satkins@rsfaboard.com; and msimpson@rsfaboard.com.
Rachel Laffer is a longtime Covenant resident and Editor of the RSF Post.