Community Silvergate

Standing Room Only as Members Share Silvergate Concerns

10/21/2025
Annie Finch
It was standing room only at the September 30 Town Hall meeting hosted by Friends to Protect the Covenant, as members spilled over into the Inn’s library, hallway and coffee shop. Association members were anxious to learn about Silvergate from the Protect the Covenant panel which included the President of the Rancho Santa Fe Historical Society.

Friends to Protect the Covenant held our last Town Hall meeting on September 30th at the Inn. We had more than 125 neighbors attend, showing their love of Rancho by keeping our community and Covenant protected.

We had anticipated attending the October 7 Art Jury meeting where Silvergate was scheduled on the agenda. However, the day prior, the RSFA sent a notice that Silvergate had asked for a postponement. Apparently, one art juror was out of town, and Silvergate did not want the project heard by only the remaining four. 

The Silvergate project will now be heard at the Art Jury meeting at 9:00 am on Tues, Oct 28, at the Association office on Avenida de Acacias. We will meet on the patio beforehand at 8:30 am for coffee and treats. Bring your friends and neighbors! We need our leaders to hear your concerns! Until then, join us on Thursday, Oct. 23, between 4-6 pm for our next Town Hall meeting at the Historical Society — bring your questions and passion for the Ranch!

The Top 10 Things neighbors discussed at our last Town Hall:

  • Silvergate is a RENTAL complex.
  • No Nursing care. If residents can’t stand and pivot, Silvergate does NOT have care for you.
  • The Board acknowledged that the two Covenant Silvergate parcels are zoned Residential Class C AND Business Class L, and then passed a resolution totally ignoring Class L, and instructed the Art Jury to do the same.
  • The members request the new RSFA Board to address why this project went to the Art Jury without a vote from the members, and how the Board plans to communicate with us.
  • The Silvergate development does not comply with the 2.86 net acre, Rural Residential zoning requirement, as acknowledged by both the RSFA and the County. This means only nine homes could be built on the 28 acres owned by Silvergate.
  • Members have requested, but have yet to receive, the report about the C & L zoning prepared by the RSFA’s land use attorneys.
  • We haven’t seen a traffic study and suspect a development of this magnitude will require road widening.
  • We all agree we would like more open discussion with the new Board.
  • This change to our Covenant is so significant, the community should be deciding whether it’s beneficial, not the Art Jury, nor the Board.
  • We moved to the Covenant for a Reason — and it wasn’t to have a high-density rental development in our historic enclave.
  • The development’s assessment monies to the Association are not worth the price of losing the rural, open space neighborhood we have come to love for more than 100 years, by allowing this and other potential commercial developments to spring up all over the Ranch.

Annie Finch is a longtime Covenant resident and a member of Friends to Protect the Covenant.