Author’s Note: Below is the letter I presented during member input at the recent Art Jury meeting reviewing the Silvergate project. After public comment, there was little discussion among jurors before President Tom Walper moved to advance the project from conceptual review (bulk, mass, and architectural design) to plan review (lighting and landscaping). Most troubling – and frankly shocking – was his addition to the motion that the applicant can add a second story to the Memory Care building bordering the neighboring property, reversing the prior Art Jury’s decision to remove it as a condition of deferral.
I’ve been a resident of Rancho Santa Fe for 10 years. I served two terms on the Audit and Finance Committee and now serve as Vice Chair of the Osuna Committee.
Like many residents, I chose this community very intentionally. People come here for the open space, the quiet roads, and the ranches and estates that sit lightly on the land – not developments that overwhelm it.
A Project That Bypasses the Covenant
That’s why the Silvergate project is so troubling. By skipping the annexation of the non-Covenant parcels, Silvergate shows it is not interested in partnering with the Association – it is bypassing it. Rather than modifying the project to meet community standards, the applicant has chosen not to work with the Art Jury. Silvergate claims it has “reduced” the size of the project. That wording is, at best, misleading – and at worst, untrue. The project has not been reduced; it has simply carved out the non-Covenant parcels, leaving open the question of what may ultimately be built there.
A Cruise Ship in a Horse Pasture
It’s not just that Silvergate is a development – it’s the size and scale. This project feels less like something designed for Rancho Santa Fe and more like something dropped in from somewhere else entirely. Imagine placing a small city in the middle of an area known for ranches and large estates – that’s what Silvergate represents. Frankly, it’s like parking a cruise ship in the middle of a horse pasture. Technically it fits on the map, but anyone standing nearby can see it does not belong.
Imagine placing a small city in the middle of an area known for ranches and large estates – that’s what Silvergate represents. Frankly, it’s like parking a cruise ship in the middle of a horse pasture. Technically it fits on the map, but anyone standing nearby can see it does not belong.
Joan Caratan Lenny
This community has always been defined by space and balance. Properties along roads like Via de Santa Fe and Via de la Valle are set back. The land breathes. The landscape leads.
Silvergate does not follow that pattern – it overwhelms it.
The proposed density and building mass are simply out of character with the surrounding parcels. Instead of complementing the neighborhood, the project fundamentally changes it. The result feels imported rather than integrated.
Approve This, and You Approve What Comes Next
But the biggest concern may be what comes next. Approving a project like this doesn’t just approve one development – it sets a precedent.
Developers pay attention to precedent. If something this large and this dense can be approved here, then the message is clear: the standard has changed. And once that happens, the dominoes begin to fall.
Another proposal will follow – perhaps slightly larger. Then another – slightly denser. Each one pointing back to this decision and asking: you allowed that, why not this?
Over time, the very qualities that make Rancho Santa Fe special – the open land, the sense of quiet—begin to disappear, piece by piece.
This community has spent generations protecting its character. That didn’t happen by accident. It happened because the Art Jury was willing to say, “This belongs here,” and “This does not.”
Silvergate does not fit the scale, character, or spirit of Rancho Santa Fe. And without annexation of the non-Covenant parcels, there is no clarity about what may come next.
Do not approve this project. Once we tip the first domino, we will not get another chance to stand it back up.
Joan Caratan Lenny is a Covenant resident and licensed CPA who served on the RSFA Audit & Finance Committee and now serves as Vice Chair of the Osuna Committee.