June 23, 2026

Thomas Walper, President, Members of the Rancho Santa Fe Art Jury
Rancho Santa Fe Association
P.O. Box A
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067

Copies To:
Vince Nicoletti, Director, Planning and Development Services, County of San Diego
RSFA Board of Directors
Dominique Albrecht, Chief Administrative Officer
Joel Levanetz, Building Commissioner

Re: Silvergate Rancho Santa Fe Project – Adherence to October 28, 2025 Art Jury Directives; Opposition to Reversal of Memory Care Building Reductions; Request to Honor Reduced Plans Presented March 10, 2026

Dear President Walper and Members of the Art Jury:

Protect Rancho Santa Fe (PRSF), on behalf of hundreds of Covenant members committed to upholding the Protective Covenant, Residential Design Guidelines, and Regulatory Code, respectfully urges the Art Jury to honor its own prior requirements and the reduced plans submitted by AmeriCare Health & Retirement, Inc. at the March 10, 2026 Art Jury meeting. We further request that the Art Jury reject its apparent reversal – publicly suggested by the President at that meeting – recommending reconsideration of adding back the second story and approximately 20 additional Memory Care units to the Memory Care building. Such a reversal was wholly inappropriate, inconsistent with the Art Jury’s documented directives, and contrary to the governing documents’ mandate to preserve Rancho Santa Fe’s rural character, low density, and open space.

Background: October 28, 2025 Directives and Applicant’s Good-Faith Response

At the October 28, 2025 Art Jury meeting, following review of story poles and extensive public input from approximately 60 Association members, the Art Jury expressed clear and repeated concerns regarding excessive bulk and mass – particularly second-story elements – and directed specific reductions. The approved minutes Art Jury Minutes of 10-28-25 document these requirements in detail, including:

• A strong preference for a one-story Memory Care building to reduce excessive bulk and mass at the project perimeter (Comment (a)).
• Incorporation of breezeway or pass-through features on apartment wings lacking them to alleviate visually massive and bulky buildings (Comment (b)).
• Reductions in second-story elements along Via de la Valle and the overall east/west span, with second-story mass kept to the middle of buildings and buffered by first-story elements (Comments (c) and (d)).
• Reduction in the quantity and tighter spacing of Cottages to avoid a “suburban” or “subdivision-like” appearance, with stepping down topography (Comment (e)).
• Additional requirements addressing grading/visual prominence at the SW corner, lighting, and rough estimates of hardscape areas (Comments (f)–(i)), plus reference to prior comments requiring further adjustments to number of units, bulk and mass, location, and height of buildings.

In direct response to these directives, the applicant made meaningful reductions, as detailed in its February 26, 2026 “Latest Project Update For Silvergate Rancho Santa Fe”: elimination of two parcels (reducing project from 29 acres to 23 acres), reduction of apartments from 178 to 148 units, cottages from 40 to 30, elimination of the Memory Care building’s second story (units reduced from 44 to 24), addition of breezeways to most apartment buildings, removal of structures from the 100-year flood zone, and enhanced perimeter landscaping/landforming for screening, light reduction, and rural character compatibility. These changes were presented as good-faith efforts to address Art Jury feedback, with updated story poles to reflect the revisions and a planned return on March 10, 2026 for advancement approval.

The Inappropriate Reversal at the March 10, 2026 Meeting

Despite the applicant’s compliance with the Art Jury’s explicit requests, at the March 10, 2026 meeting the Art Jury President publicly recommended that the applicant “reconsider adding back the second floor” to the Memory Care building. This suggestion directly contradicts the October 28, 2025 minutes’ clear directive preferring a one-story Memory Care building and the broader bulk-and-mass reduction framework. It also undermines the procedural integrity of the Art Jury process, the applicant’s demonstrated good faith, and the legitimate expectations of Covenant members – particularly adjacent owners within 500 feet -who relied on consistent enforcement of the documented standards.

This reversal was completely inappropriate. The Art Jury’s authority under the Protective Covenant (Pars. 46, 47, 52, 153 -154) and the Association’s Restated Articles of Incorporation exists precisely to ensure uniform, impartial application of standards that protect the community’s character. Reversing course after the applicant has already implemented the requested reductions – without new evidence or full re-review – raises serious questions of consistency and fairness. It rewards escalation rather than the restraint the Art Jury previously demanded.

Governing Documents Mandate Rural Standards, Low Density, and Open Space

The Rancho Santa Fe Association’s governing documents impose a clear, affirmative duty on the Board, Art Jury, and staff to maintain the community’s defining rural character, low-density estate-lot pattern, and commitment to open space. Key provisions include:

Residential Design Guidelines (adopted June 20, 1991; amended June 18, 1992) – Theme Statement:

“Rancho Santa Fe is traditionally defined by its subdued, rural character which is achieved by: site design which preserves natural landforms and reduces the obtrusiveness of new construction; architecture which represents restraint and simplicity through designs whose mass and scale are subordinated to natural surroundings; and landscaping which is informal and makes maximum use of prevailing natural and traditional plant materials.”

Protective Covenant (Declaration No. 1) – Key Provisions:

Par. 46: Art Jury approval of subdivisions and improvements is required “so as to insure a uniform and reasonably high standard of artistic result and attractiveness.”

Par. 154(b): “A design must be reasonably good in order to be approved by the Art Jury. … The design of the building must be such as will, in the opinion of the Art Jury, be reasonably appropriate to its site and harmonize with its surroundings.”

Par. 153 (General Requirements as to Architecture): Directs preservation of the attractive character of the property and community through Art Jury oversight.

These provisions, together with the Regulatory Code and the Restated Articles of Incorporation establish that the Art Jury and Board must prioritize compatibility with the existing low-density, single-family estate rural fabric over an institutional-scale, employee-intensive, multi-building senior living facility. The project – even in its reduced form at 148 units – concentrates density at levels exceeding 55,000 persons per square mile on a tiny fraction of Covenant land, directly at odds with these mandates.

Visual Evidence of Stark Incompatibility

The sketch below vividly illustrates Silvergate’s incompatibility with its immediate neighbors, and for Rancho Santa Fe in general: Each yellow circle represents an existing single-family dwelling within the Rancho Santa Fe Covenant, while the dense cluster of circles symbolizes the number of units proposed for the Silvergate senior living project – visually underscoring its stark incompatibility with the community’s rural, estate-lot character.

Even without a planning degree, it should be simple common sense that such an institutional, employee-intensive, multi-building senior living/care facility is not compatible with a rural, large-lot, single-family estate community such as Rancho Santa Fe.

The governing documents exist to prevent exactly this type of obtrusive, high-impact development through consistent Art Jury application of bulk, mass, height, density, and compatibility standards.

Requested Action

PRSF respectfully requests that the Art Jury:

1. Confirm that the Silvergate project shall be held strictly to the reduced plans as submitted and presented at the March 10, 2026 meeting – no re-addition of the second story to the Memory Care building, no net increase in units, bulk, or mass beyond what was shown by Silvergate in the February 26, 2026 update and March presentation.
2. Explicitly reject any proposal or suggestion to add back the second story or additional Memory Care units, as doing so would violate the Art Jury’s own October 28, 2025 directives and the good-faith reliance of the community and applicant.
3. Reaffirm the Art Jury’s commitment to the rural character, low-density, open-space, and compatibility standards of the Protective Covenant, Residential Design Guidelines, and Regulatory Code in all future decisions on this and similar Class “C” or large-site projects.

PRSF appreciates the Art Jury’s prior work in securing meaningful reductions and stands ready to support a process that consistently applies the governing documents. We urge you to maintain the integrity of that process by adhering to the October 28, 2025 directives and the reduced March plans. Rancho Santa Fe’s founders and the Covenant’s plain language demand nothing less.

Respectfully submitted,

Protect Rancho Santa Fe Board of Directors and Rancho Santa Fe Association Members

Enclosures:

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Art Jury Minutes 10-28-25

Latest Project Update for Silvergate RSF 2-26-26