Independent group created to keep residents informed on Rancho Santa Fe Covenant Club

A group of Rancho Santa Fe residents concerned about the proposed Covenant Club pool and fitness facility have created an independent steering committee, the RSF Homeowners Group, to ensure that all members are kept informed on the process, according to a press release.

Currently, the Association’s Covenant Club Committee is in the professional feasibility study phase on a potential 15,000 to 17,000-square-foot facility on the RSF Golf Club campus. The committee is currently following the schedule outlined in April which will include a town hall meeting at the end of the program and site analysis phase, followed by a Covenant-wide vote on whether to build the facility in early 2016.

The RSF Homeowners group first got together in June to discuss the Covenant Club and to trade any information they had regarding the site, the financing and the scope. The group said in the press release that there is a lot of unsubstantiated rumors floating around and that the process of the Covenant Club Committee is flawed, with not enough information being disseminated.

According to Tom Ault, chairman of the group, the RSF Homeowners Group is a formal steering committee that will meet once a week.

“Our goals and objectives are to ensure that any pool/fitness center is designed in keeping with the unique ambience of the Ranch. Many of us are golf and tennis club members and we felt a need to protect the RSF Golf Club and RSF Tennis Club from any changes that might jeopardize their mission and vision,” Ault said. “As all of us are homeowners, we wanted to ensure that in keeping with Covenant precedents, any new club in RSF, including the proposed pool/fitness center, is paid for and financially sustained by its own membership.”

Ault said the group started with 20 Covenant homeowners and is currently around 300 homeowners and growing daily.

“It’s a testament to the hunger for information that is not easily or clearly obtained,” Ault said.

The steering committee will collect information from the RSF Association, the CC Design Review Committee, the CC Membership/Marketing Committee, the CC Financial Committee and all public presentations and share what they learn with members on its website, rsfhomeownersgroup.com.

“We will analyze the facts and based on that information, we will determine if the project aligns with our mission and objectives. If not, we will oppose it,” said Bill Johnson, chairman in charge of communications. “If we decide to oppose the project, we will coordinate a campaign to inform all RSF residents why we oppose it and ask for their support and vote. We feel it is imperative that all homeowners have an informed and educated opinion on how the CC project will affect the Ranch before they vote.”

All of the Association’s Covenant Club Committee meetings are open to the public

“We have many of the same goals as the RSF Homeowners Group and agree with their aim of increased communications and transparency,” said Heather Slosar, Association director and chair of the Covenant Club Executive Committee. “We are in the feasibility plan stage, and have an open process in place to share information as we work through designing, programming and finance options. We welcome member input throughout this time-intensive process.”

The Covenant Club Committee’s marketing subcommittee will meet on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 8:30 a.m. at The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe and the design review subcommittee will meet on Oct. 13 at 3 p.m., location to be determined.