Open letter to Rancho Santa Fe Association board questions survey procedure

With over 650 signatures petitioning you to take a community vote on the issue of signal lights vs. roundabouts, you decided on a survey. My issue is how you are conducting this survey.

You are sending only one survey to each property instead of one per member, as our Covenant governing documents specifies in its voting procedures.

Although a survey is not a vote, it would seem the same rules should apply so as not to distort the outcome because of these inherent problems:

• A parcel of 50 acres receives one survey, yet a person with four parcels, each of which is 2.86 acres, would receive four surveys.

•The Inn has multiple parcels, and as a corporation they would get multiple surveys.

• On one legal parcel with 18 condos -— who gets the one survey? What happens to the other 17 dues-paying owners?

•Our governing documents specify up to two members per parcel. Which one gets the survey?

• Each of the 18 condo sub-associations in the Village has two separate voters, but they are on one legal parcel — which one gets the survey?

• We have one member with over 12 parcels. Should that person receive 12 surveys?

Note on past surveys: The pool and fitness center survey was sent last year to only one per property, according to a director at your last meeting. The only other time one survey per parcel was sent by the Association was to establish Covenant demographics — family size and ages. There were many complaints from spouses who did not have a “say.”

Except for these two cases, there has never been an Association survey sent to one person per property because it was determined that the outcome will be distorted.

• There are some “legal parcels” in the Covenant that date back 90 years, prior to land subdivision rules in California, that are as small as 1,000 square feet. You can’t build on them, but they are still legal parcels — do they get a survey?

• A few Covenant parcels have only a portion in the Covenant — do they get a portion of the survey?

• The Association owns 56 parcels — will someone be filling them out?

• Will the surveys be numbered for control purposes?

• Who is responsible for the wording of the survey questions? The Association has always hired outside independent professions to conduct and tabulate the results. What is planned for this survey?

• Prior surveys have cost between $15,000 and $25,000; what will this survey cost?

It is probable that this survey will be contested. Why don’t you just take an advisory vote of our membership according to our governing documents, which will save us money and is more difficult to challenge?

Marie Addario, Past President

Rancho Santa Fe Association Board of Directors