Street toppers to be added to Rancho Santa Fe village signage

The Rancho Santa Fe Association board gave the nod for new street toppers on village street signs with the aim of promoting and branding Rancho Santa Fe as a special historic spot.

Proposed by the Association Infrastructure Committee, the toppers are a smaller piece of signage placed on top of the regular street sign. The committee worked with designers to create a brown topper pronouncing “Historic Rancho Santa Fe” with the signature eucalyptus trees and the 1928 founding date.

“We think using this branding tool starting off in the village would be a great idea for our community,” said RSF Association Manager Christy Whalen, describing the street toppers as a little like the boulders around the Covenant marked with “Historic Rancho Santa Fe”.

The proposed design for the street topper.

(Courtesy)

With the board’s conceptual approval on Jan. 13, the toppers will be next be reviewed by the Art Jury. The toppers in the village area are anticipated to cost about $3,000.

Director Greg Gruzdowich, who chairs the Infrastructure Committee, said it looks like a small project but it is an example in “tenaciousness” as the committee first started looking a branding issues in 2019. They had considered using different blades with a logo or different colors but because they are part of the county and not a city, there were constraints with what they could do.

He acknowledged and thanked fellow committee members Mark Simpson and Mike Gallagher for their help in moving the project forward.

“A small project but I think it’s an important project branding-wise and we may see these throughout the community as these roll out,” Gruzdowich said.