On November 19, the Rancho Santa Fe Association Art Jury voted unanimously to hire an attorney with land use expertise to determine whether the proposed Silvergate project encompassing the 28-plus acre parcel on the corner of Calzada del Bosque and Via de la Valle is zoned to allow 160 rental apartments, duplexes and other accommodations to house around 250 people, as well as a restaurant, wellness center, and other structures.
The vote came at the end of a three-hour agenda topic during which the Art Jury heard from proponents and opponents of the senior housing development, including a presentation by the Association’s building planner, Jordan Garvey. His presentation was followed by comments from Silvergate CEO David Petree; Bill Budd, Association legal counsel; and members of the Art Jury.
Substantive Input
Of the five Art Jurors, two had substantive input relating to the application. Art Jury Vice President Kelli Hillard spoke about her concerns regarding the voices in opposition, the appropriateness of the project in the Covenant, and whether or not the zoning was being accurately represented. Art Jury Secretary Janet McVeigh went into detail about the architecture, including the proximity of a parking lot and lighting poles so close to neighboring homes. Art Jury President Bruce Jordan indicated his desire to continue to move the project forward, and the two newest jurors, Stephanie Kilkenny and Raymond Rippy, appointed in January, were relatively silent.
The motion to hire an attorney, with the requisite skill in land use, came from Ms. Hillard in response to the 140 Covenant members that submitted a petition in 2023 indicating they were opposed to the proposed high-density Silvergate RSF project and wanted a land use attorney to address their concerns. The Board at that time said they were unable to consult with a land use attorney until the design plans were officially submitted to the Art Jury. The present plans were submitted in October 2024.
Interesting Revelation
Interestingly, at the November 19 Art Jury meeting, before the conclusion of the Silvergate agenda item – and after the majority of the attendees had left – Mr. Petree stated he had gotten some type of verbal approval in 2021 from the RSFA Building Department to pursue a senior housing project on the parcels which are zoned Residence District Class C (dormitory, hotel, apartment house, single family dwelling, etc.) and Business and Public Use Districts Class L (polo field, horse training facility, or horse keeping, etc.).
Mr. Petree is a very experienced developer. Whatever verbal indication he may have received, he knows that a verbal opinion regarding unsubmitted plans is not binding, not to mention that it is the responsibility of the developer, not the Association staff or the Art Jury, to determine whether zoning and other issues are resolved before moving forward on a development project.
Putting the Cart Before the Horse
How did this project get so far down the field, especially considering two far less ambitious projects were denied? The previous two projects were rejected by two prior Boards, Art Juries and the San Dieguito Planning Group. In this current climate, it is not unreasonable to imagine that the Association might be motivated to move this development along to prevent the Association and by extension the Board from another legal skirmish. None of the foregoing has stopped Mr. Petree from promoting Silvergate RSF as if it were an approved certainty – replete with waiting list, active website, marketing pitches at the RSF Golf Clubhouse and RSF Rotary, and promotional swag including embroidered ball caps and lapel buttons.
Conversely, a petition signed by more than 300 members (and more being collected daily) has been submitted to the Board requesting it to call for a vote of the membership whether not less than two-thirds of such members agree to amend the Rancho Santa Fe Protective Covenant to accommodate the massive proposed Silvergate Rancho Santa Fe senior housing project, and further, that until such a vote is finalized, neither the Art Jury nor the Board be authorized to act relating to the project, other than for the Board to conduct such a vote. The Art Jury’s only purview is design review, not zoning or related issues. Unless the Art Jury is instructed to take no further action until a vote is held, it appears they are likely to approve Silvergate.
A Duty to the Membership
California law and the Covenant’s governing documents require the Board to act on the petitions submitted by the members. According to the Adams-Stirling website, the Board directors owe a duty to the members to act with the utmost good faith and reasonable care for the benefit of the Association and its members. The Board also has a duty to investigate what comes before them, to do their due diligence and to follow the applicable law. So far, the Board has not responded to the petition nor to the members who signed it.
In the meantime, the Board must set aside any fear of reprisal, abide by California law and RSFA governing documents, and call for a vote of the membership on what truly is an existential matter insofar as Rancho Santa Fe is concerned. The Association also must select an independent attorney with substantial expertise in land use and HOA law so that the members can be confident that the Covenant’s directives are being honestly followed.
Jeff Brooks and Cari Chanin (contributing author) are Covenant members.