Why is the Silvergate Rancho Santa Fe development project considering building a multimillion-dollar retirement facility in the San Dieguito River Valley, where part of the project is officially designated as a flood plain?
The Lake Hodges dam is well over 100 years old and the City of San Diego is under state mandate to keep water levels at about 30% of capacity due to safety issues such as seismic concerns, leaks, exposed rebar and cracks. The dam has been rated “unsatisfactory” by the California Division of Safety of Dams, which is the worst possible rating. If the dam were to fail it could have cataclysmic consequences for those that live downstream. And construction on the new dam is not expected to commence until 2029 and be completed in 2034.
Compounding Liabilities
Approximately 250 individuals are slated to live in the proposed Silvergate project, to say nothing of all those that will work there. If the dam were to fail, there would be no time to safely evacuate residents and staff. Plus, the proposed project has only one entrance/exit. Do RSFA members want to see their Board, and thus the membership, liable for the destruction and possible casualties from a project on land that is known to be under threat of flooding or downstream from a weakened Lake Hodges Dam? I don’t think so.
In my lifetime, I can recall several times when the area for the proposed facility was flooded. The first was when Bing Crosby was holding one of his early golf tournaments in the late 1930’s at the RSFA Golf Club. Bing Crosby was living in his home — the original Osuna II house — on Via de la Valle. He could not drive on Via de la Valle as it was flooded and the railroad bridge and highway at the mouth of the San Dieguito River in Del Mar were heavily damaged due to flooding.
Seals Underwater at Whispering Palms
A second example was in 1979. The entire stretch of the river valley — from the base of Lake Hodges Dam, all the way to the ocean was flooded. Most of the surrounding area and much of Whispering Palms was underwater. There were even ocean seals that had migrated up river found swimming in the vicinity. On other occasions, torrential rains caused Lake Hodges to overflow so much that people could actually canoe or raft down the river from the dam to Del Mar.
Due to higher-than-normal rains, winds, and tides, our own coast from Torrey Pines north to San Clemente and beyond are experiencing cliff decay and collapses. Significant portions of our own RSF Golf Course have been flooded in the past few years. We need look no further than the past few weeks at the loss of lives and massive destruction caused by catastrophic flooding in Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Valencia, Spain.
History on Repeat
Over the past several years, millions of dollars have been spent to clean out the San Dieguito River basin so the ocean tides can flow from the mouth of the river to El Camino Real. Why would anyone imagine that ocean waters couldn’t flow all the way past El Camino up the valley into Whispering Palms, Chino Farms and onto the land where Silvergate is proposed? It has happened before and it can most certainly happen again.
There are some additional concerns associated with this project. Insurance companies are rapidly exiting California due to fire, floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters. Why would an insurance company want to issue a policy on a project such as Silvergate? Another question is, why would a real estate lender provide a construction loan on a property such as Silvergate? If these issues are not a problem, then the proposed developer of Silvergate should immediately demonstrate to the RSFA Board, the Art Jury, and the RSFA membership, that it can provide non-contingent commitments from an insurer and a lender.
Dick Clotfelter is a past RSFA Board Director, commercial real estate developer, and longtime Covenant resident.