Three years ago, then-RSFA Board candidate David Gamboa warned Ranch members that Sacramento was coming for our land.
This Thursday, the conversation comes back home.
The RSFA Board will consider a request to subdivide a more than four-acre parcel at the corner of Lago Lindo and El Montevideo into two smaller, non-conforming lots. It may sound like just another development application.
It isn’t.
Land-use decisions are among the most important decisions the RSFA Board is ever asked to make. Long after today’s directors are gone, those decisions will continue shaping the character of Rancho Santa Fe.
Historically, the Association has denied lot splits that created undersized, non-conforming lots unless there’s unusual circumstances such as irregularly shaped parcels or lots with physical constraints that make them difficult to build upon. This property appears to be neither. It’s a gently sloping, rectangular lot with an existing single-family estate, guest house and citrus grove.
The proposal doesn’t solve a hardship. It creates another lot to develop.
Whether this application meets the findings for the lot split will be one of the central questions before the Board. That question has become more important because Rancho Santa Fe has already been moving toward greater residential density for years.
The Association adopted a generous approach to California’s ADU laws even though it had Historic District exemptions. Today, they’re standard on new homes, and the Art Jury has approved them on lots that previously did not meet Covenant standards, including building them closer to neighbors’ property lines, grading into slopes that were once considered “unbuildable,” and attaching two-car garages – even though ADU laws don’t require a garage.
Whether you agree with those decisions or not, the result is clear. Many properties that once contained one single-family home now contain two, with the second one often used as a long-term rental. The residential density within the Covenant is essentially doubling.
For decades, Rancho Santa Fe’s value has rested on more than beautiful homes. Large lots, open space and low-density development are central to the Ranch’s enduring appeal.
That’s why this proposal matters. It’s no longer a question of one home and an ADU on a single legal lot. It’s a question of whether one lot should become two. Two dwellings become four – not to mention barns, pool houses and other accessory structures that may be added.
California’s housing laws continue moving toward greater density. In 2021, SB 9 legalized duplexes and urban lot splits across much of the state, while Historic Districts – including Rancho Santa Fe – were largely exempt, thanks in part to the efforts of former RSFA Board members and historic preservation consultants. Earlier this year, AB 1061 narrowed that exemption for many properties within Historic Districts. Those changes created a more challenging legal landscape inviting disagreement, appeals and, at times, litigation.
But while Sacramento has narrowed Rancho Santa Fe’s protections, it has not eliminated them. The Protective Covenant and Regulatory Code still give the Association meaningful authority over land use. The question isn’t whether that authority exists. It’s whether we’re willing to exercise it.
The next land-use decision isn’t Sacramento’s. It’s ours.
Want to Weigh In?
If you have an opinion on this proposal, now is the time to make your voice heard.
Covenant members may attend the RSFA Board meeting at 10 a.m. on Thursday, August 6, at the Association offices on Avenida de Acacias, or submit comments in advance by emailing me*********@************on.org.
Kelli Hillard is editor of the RSF Post and a former member of the Rancho Santa Fe Art Jury.