There is treasure among us

If the value of a property is judged by the amount of people interested in it, we could be sitting on a true treasure at the corner of La Granada and Avenida de Acacias. Everybody seems to have an opinion. Real estate agents have their ideas about what to do with it. People interested in our parking spaces have proposals. Others just want to open it for weddings or parties, on a contractual basis. More to the point, everybody also has an opinion about what the property is worth. To some the appraised value is too high…Or too low. The Garden Club is getting a deal…Or it isn’t.

But, throughout all the hubbub, thankfully the Garden Club board has remained steadfast in their desire to save the building for Rancho Santa Fe use.

The real issue is not the value of the property but its value to Rancho Santa Fe homeowners.

The issue is not how much money moves from one pocket to the other but how do we maximize the community value of this very special, strategically located, asset

Imagine if this corner of our village was just turned over to the highest bidder. Yes, the Garden Club would then have much more money to invest in charities, inside or outside Rancho Santa Fe. But, is that really what we, as homeowners, want? Are we willing to just give up our use of this building? Move out concerts, lectures, parties, weddings, graduations, cotillions, community meetings, and the like, elsewhere? And, of course, those events represent only how we use the building today. How about tomorrow’s events, as we work toward a more involved and active place for young families to live?

Many of you voted last April to keep this building as part of the heritage of our village. Many of you believed at the time that this is the type of Rancho Santa Fe historical building the Community Enhancement Fund was created to save. You believed that our community needs this kind of venue, not only for events we have been holding in the past but for events we might envision in the future.

Now it’s time to vote again. Let’s protect the past but, most importantly, let’s dream big for the future. Don’t let this treasure get away.

Peggy Brooks

Karen and Dan Henderson

Carol Coburn

Gail Kendall

Tim and Sharon Considine

Midgie Vandenberg

Patty Queen

Mary Ann and Vearl Smith