Rancho Santa Fe Blog

I just wanted to let everyone know that there will be a meeting tomorrow evening at 7:00pm at the Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club. The meeting will address the many questions that the residents of Rancho Santa Fe have about incorporation. Below is an article from the Rancho Santa Fe review that goes into more detail.
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Incorporation meeting to be held Feb. 23
By Liz Serrano

Hoping to answer community questions about incorporation, the RSF Association has scheduled a public meeting where Dick Chandler, chairman of the DOS (Division of Services) Committee, will make a presentation regarding the committee’s findings on Feb. 23.
Chandler will be presenting the incorporation study Feb. 23 at the RSF Garden Club. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. The format of the presentation is not one of debate, but rather one where residents can ask questions and clarify concerns.
The Association board was faced with a standing-room only crowd at the Feb. 2 meeting, filled mostly with Covenant residents opposed to incorporation. The overwhelming comment made by those in attendance at the Feb. 2 meeting about the DOS report (referred to by many as the “Chandler Report”) was that the document is biased and had been prepared by residents with a bias toward incorporation.
One of the key concerns expressed is the Association’s ability to fund the LAFCO (Local Agency Formation Commission) application, which will begin the process of incorporation.
“The board has to be very careful,” said Bill Hinchy, a long-time resident of RSF and former Association board president. “The homeowners association board cannot be the [entity] who submits the application to LAFCO. It has to come from the residents. And with this report, the Association is being asked to fund the effort.”
The report estimates a cost of more than $200,000 for the LAFCO application. However, Hinchy and other residents estimate the cost to be two to three times as much.
“The report said there would be a negative declaration, meaning no environment impact study report would be necessary,” said Hinchy. “When you have no environmental impact of a city, that’s the first point where litigation starts. The board should anticipate that if there is a negative declaration, there will be lawsuits challenging it.”
Hinchy said that it would be inaccurate for anyone to assume incorporation — and adding several surrounding areas to comprise the city — would not have environmental consequences. Litigation fees for environmental issues, which would require several expert witnesses and opinions, could cost an additional $250,000 or more in attorney fees, Hinchy said.
“The board has to be careful in how it spends the money because they are spending my dollar and the proponents money as well,” he said. “They don’t know if they have 30 percent in favor or 70 percent against like the last time.”
Other factors could weigh heavily on the Association’s ability to fund any part of the incorporation process as well. Beginning July 1, the Davis Sterling Act will go into effect. The act stipulates equal spending by a homeowners association for both sides of an issue.
The board, which has yet to take a public vote on where it stands on the issue of incorporation, was careful to communicate that it has not made stands in favor or against the report. However, the board did agree to mail out a summary of the report to Association members, along with a statement from the Finance Committee and a statement from the board itself. The mailing of the 12-plus page document could cost as much as $4,000. In addition to the mailing, the report will be made accessible to everyone on the Association’s Web site.
“We intend to get the information out to the members,” said Ron McMahon, board president. “We fully expect there will be people who want to refute it.”
Although Chandler has received the bulk of the criticism for the report, McMahon and the board were quick to support the work he did.
“It’s very difficult to find someone who would spend as much time as Dick (Chandler) has,” McMahon said. “We will be careful how the board’s views are represented. You’ve got to respect the amount of work he’s done, regardless of your point of view.”Please bookmark this blog in order to recieve up to date information about Rancho Santa Fe Real Estate, News, and Events!

Any questions please call:
Julien Brandt or Katie Hawkes
Rancho Santa Fe Properties
Prudential California Realty
Cell: (858) 342-2773
Office: (858) 756-1113

Please bookmark this blog in order to recieve up to date information about Rancho Santa Fe Real Estate, News, and Events! Any questions please call: Julien at (858) 342-2773