The Rancho Santa Fe Association Board of Directors will hold its annual meeting this Thursday at 10 a.m. at the Association offices on Avenida de Acacias – and the agenda is packed with decisions that matter to every Covenant member. From approving a budget that charts the financial course of the Association, to weighing a potentially costly Fourth of July fireworks or drone display, to determining the future of Osuna Ranch, to adopting new conflict of interest rules for Board and committee members, the Board will be making choices that affect how your membership dollars are spent and how this community is governed. Many members never open the supporting documents behind these agenda items, so we have done the reading so you don’t have to. For those wishing to weigh in on any of the issues below, email memberinput@rsfassociation.org.
The RSFA Budget in Plain English: Here’s What Members Need to Know
The Board will consider approving the Association’s budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, with total projected revenue of approximately $34 million against total operating expenses of roughly $31.6 million. While that may sound comfortable, the bottom line tells a more sobering story: after depreciation, capital expenditures, reserve transfers, and debt service are factored in, the Association is projecting a net cash outflow of approximately $5.6 million, which would draw estimated cash reserves down from roughly $12 million to $6.4 million.
On the revenue side, member assessments are budgeted to increase 3.5% to approximately $10.96 million, while Golf and Tennis Club enrollment fees – a significant one-time revenue source – are projected to decline by 9.1% to just under $2 million, continuing a downward trend from $3.4 million in FY2025. Wages and benefits represent the single largest expense category across all funds, budgeted at over $17.4 million – a 7.6% increase over the current year forecast. Notably, General Services (funded by members at large) staffing costs alone – which include administrative, management, enforcement, building department, grounds, and patrol – are projected to jump 11%, raising questions about whether new positions are being added and what is driving that acceleration in administrative overhead.
Capital expenditures are also substantial, with approximately $6.6 million budgeted for property and equipment purchases, much of it driven by the Ranch Clubhouse and restaurant renovation being funded by the Golf Club at $3.68 million and the General Services at $6.8 million – $4 million of which is a loan to help fund it. The Food and Beverage operation continues to run at a significant loss – projected at $1.76 million in the red for FY2027 – with the General Services subsidizing it through a $500,000 direct participation contribution.
Also tucked in the General Services capital budget are line items for the design of a new Golf Club fitness center at $50,000 and an office building move at $100,000 – modest figures that may easy to overlook, but members would be wise to pay attention. History has shown that these early-stage design and planning costs can be the first step in a much larger spending trajectory; the Golf Club restaurant renovation is a cautionary tale, where incremental expenditures – $40,000 here, $50,000 there – ultimately added up to nearly $1 million in consulting and design fees before architectural plans were submitted for review.
The bottom line: With expenses outpacing revenue when all obligations are accounted for, members may want to come prepared with questions before the budget is voted on Thursday. For a closer look at where assessment dollars are going, the detailed fund-by-fund breakdown is on the RSFA website behind the member login.
Conflict of Interest Resolution: Who Is, and Isn’t Covered?
The Board will consider a resolution that would prohibit co-owners of the same RSF property from simultaneously serving on the RSFA Board of Directors and any Association committee or club board – a measure designed to prevent potential conflicts of interest within community governance. The resolution specifically calls out the Art Jury, the committee that oversees architectural and design decisions in the community, requiring any Art Jury member to agree upfront to resign if their co-owner is elected to the Board. The same principle would apply across the full range of Association committees, including the Audit Finance Committee, Trails Committee, and Osuna Committee, among others.
While the resolution closes an important gap, it is unclear whether officers of the Tennis Club and Golf Club Board of Governors are fully covered by the new rule. Decisions the RSFA Board makes about these clubs, their budgets, their facilities, or their capital projects could directly benefit or affect a household in which one member sits on each side of that relationship. Members with a stake in how conflicts of interest are managed across all levels of RSF governance may want to attend and ask the Board to clarify that point before the resolution is adopted.
Open Osuna: Bringing Back a Member Amenity
Tucked into the heart of the Rancho Santa Fe Covenant, Osuna Ranch is one of the community’s most historic and irreplaceable assets – a living piece of California history anchored by an original adobe, rolling pastures, and the agrarian beauty that defines Rancho Santa Fe. Until a permitting question forced a pause on all activities, Osuna Ranch was the backdrop for some of the community’s favorite gatherings: Osuna Days, farm-to-table dinners, adobe brick-making demonstrations, Scout meetings, and intimate private celebrations that connected members to the land and to each other.
The Osuna Committee is asking the Board to engage a County planning consultant to help navigate a Major Use Permit modification – a proven path the Association has successfully traveled before, in unlocking community use of Richardson Field and the Arroyo Preserve. That process worked, and there is every reason to believe it can work here too. Members who love this property would do well to show up at the Board meeting and make clear that Osuna Ranch deserves the same investment of vision and effort that has been extended to other Association lands.
July 4th Evening Event: Fireworks or Drones on the Driving Range
The RSFA Board will consider options for a Fourth of July community evening event on Saturday, July 4 at the golf course driving range, with a BBQ dinner and aerial display running from 6 to 10 pm. Two options are being considered: a traditional fireworks show, and a drone display.
On the cost side, a traditional fireworks show would run $50,000. The drone option ranges from $80,000 to $140,000 depending on the number of drones. The event is proposed as member-only, with RSVPs or tickets required, and neighboring properties within a certain radius of the golf course will receive additional individual notice ahead of the event.
Members raised concerns about the impact of fireworks on equestrians and the environment since the golf club driving range sits in a narrow valley surrounded by properties where horses are kept, and the contained geography means explosive noise could echo off canyon walls with far greater intensity than a display in a more open setting. Members who keep horses near the golf course or whose properties fall within earshot may want to make their voices heard before the Board selects an option and contracts are signed.
For those wishing to weigh in on any of the issues above, email memberinput@rsfassociation.org.