Rancho Santa Fe Association
Building and Planning Department

Request for Proposals for Updating the Rancho Santa Fe Regulatory Code and Residential Design Guidelines

11/29/2020

Overview

The Rancho Santa Fe Association is in the process of updating its governing documents including certain sections of the Rancho Santa Fe Regulatory Code (RC) as well as the Rancho Santa Fe Design Guidelines (RDG). These documents that are primarily based on the original Protective Covenant (PC) Agreement of 1928, were adopted in the early to mid-90's. Certain sections of these documents have been updated over the years, however, there remains a large segment that still requires updating. Rancho Santa Fe Association is seeking the services of experienced consulting planners to assist the Association with drafting and updating these documents. Ideally, this entity would be familiar with the Association documents, the County of San Diego planning and building codes, as well as the regulations of and similar/nearby communities.

Background

The preamble of the Rancho Santa Fe Residential Design Guidelines states the following: "Since its inception in 1927, the Rancho Santa Fe Association has striven to protect, preserve, maintain and enhance the community, its natural resources, beauty, quality of life and community character. That Rancho Santa Fe continues to be a highly desirous place to live is reflective of the care, caution and regulation with which the development of the community has proceeded." The document further states: "Rancho Santa Fe is a planned and regulated community. The broad reaching power of the Rancho Santa Fe Protective Covenant, from which the Association derives its authority and prerogative, is the source and life force through which the values and aspirations of the community are sustained. The authority of the Protective Covenant will be utilized to protect, preserve and defend the rural character, environment and ambiance of the Rancho Santa Fe community."

Art Jury: One of the important principles of the Protective Covenant is the power vested with the Art Jury to interpret the conditions and restrictions in the governing documents and the Residential Design Guidelines. The Art Jury with the guidance and assistance of the Building Commissioner, reviews all improvement applications to ensure the proposals adhere to the word and the spirit of the PC, RC, and the RDG.

While the original PC remains the principal document, the RC and the RDG require incremental updating to reflect the new technologies, as well the changing State and Federal regulations. Furthermore, development trends often bring new areas into focus that require clarification and explanation.

Board of Directors: It is one of the top goals of the Rancho Santa Fe Board of Directors to ever improve the consistency of the Art Jury decisions. An updated and complete governing and guiding documents is an essential part of this effort.

Scope of Work: As the three documents (PC, RC, and RDG) provide the framework for the Art Jury and the Building Commissioner evaluations and decisions, it is essential that they reflect the current technologies, industry trends, and regulation environments. The goal of this effort is to update the Regulatory Code and the Residential Design Guidelines to be current, and consistent with the industry best practices while reflecting the values of the Rancho Santa Fe community. Furthermore, the work is to also close any loopholes and provide answers where they have been gaps the current regulation.

Goals and Deliverables: It is expected that the update work will be completed in stages. The priority in updating the Rancho Santa Fe Regulatory Code chapters is as follows:

1. Chapter 42, Grading
2. Chapter 49, Materials (and use of wood and/or glass)
3. Chapter 14, Exterior Lighting
4. Chapter 48, Architectural Types
5. Chapter 31, Lot Coverage
6. Chapter 30, Construction permits
7. Residential Design Guidelines

It should be noted that some work has already been completed on the above chapters. The entity providing consulting services is expected to review the completed work, scan the regulatory environment as well as the regulations in similar communities for possible incorporations into the document. The consulting entity is also expected to work very closely with the Building Department to provide the deliverables while providing progress reports and incremental deliverables on agreed upon timelines. The consulting entity is expected to be fully familiar with the Rancho Santa Fe PC, RC, and RDG before undertaking the work. The consulting entity may occasionally need to participate in the Art Jury and/or Board of Directors sub-committee meetings to discuss the subject matter. All work must be prepared under the supervision of the Building Department and the Building Commissioner.

At some point during this effort, the consulting entity is to begin the work of updating the Residential Design Guidelines. The timeline and deliverable specifics can be discussed and negotiated depending on the progress made on updating the Regulatory Code chapters.

If interested please submit the following by 12/20/2020:

1. Cover letter and a statement of interest
2. Resume, and all qualifying experience
3. Hourly Rates Expectations
4. References

For any questions please contact Building Commissioner, Maryam Babaki at the maryam@rsfassociation.org.