This month, the Rancho Santa Fe Association board directed staff to explore a potential lot split and sale of the 25-acre Association-owned Osuna Ranch property, the home of a historic adobe and working horse ranch on Via de Santa Fe. Should the board decide to go ahead with this option, any property sale would be subject to a community-wide vote of Association .
Board Treasurer Phil Trubey pitched this new proposal at the board’s April 10 meeting, opening the idea up for .
“If approved, the end result would be a well-maintained equestrian property in private hands, a forever-preserved historic Osuna Adobe…and $10 million into Association coffers for capital projects that benefit all ,” Trubey said.
Trubey brought up his proposal during the director comments portion of board meeting and unanimously, his fellow directors approved exploring the option. An Osuna Committee update had been on the day’s agenda but was postponed.
With the board’s direction, Chief istrative Officer Dominique Albrecht said staff will begin researching the option and bring it back to the board for discussion at a future meeting, hopefully with participation from the Osuna Committee.
“I think it’s a good thing to look into,” remarked board President Courtney LeBeau. She said Trubey’s proposal was “well planned and well thought-out” , the result of a collaborative effort made with fellow board .
As current and past boards have long debated the future use of the ranch, its history is perhaps now well known: The Association purchased the Osuna Ranch in 2006 for $12 million in open space funds with the goal to preserve the historic 190-year-old adobe, protect open space and prevent over-development. A three-acre parcel with a home was sold for $1.7 million in 2013, leaving the remaining 25 acres.
As Trubey said in his pitch, the equestrian facility is lacking in amenities and the Association can’t keep up with the expense of running it to the high standard of many of the surrounding upscale and private equestrian properties.
“Normally, the Association board would simply expend assessment money to upgrade the faclility as it is doing with the clubhouse restaurant,” Trubey said. “However, the vast majority of our 4,000 adult use the restaurant while only eight currently board horses at Osuna. So spending significant assessment money on this facility isn’t fiscally prudent.”
“The only way the equestrian part of the property will be upgraded to a Rancho Santa Fe-level equestrian property is in private hands.”
The adobe is a separate issue from the horsekeeping operations, and one that this board and others have grappled with, Trubey said. He believes that the adobe is an important part of Rancho Santa Fe’s history and should be preserved for future generations.
His proposal is to re-draw the lot lines to create a separate Osuna Adobe parcel of about five acres, which could be donated to a 501c3 charitable organization. That organization would have a charter to forever preserve the adobe as a historic landmark. The nonprofit would additionally provide a legal structure to accept tax-free donations for its upkeep, an issue the Association has struggled with.
In the proposal, the remaining 20-acre lot could be sold, with the land remaining zoned as use class A and L with allowances for residential and commercial housekeeping facilities.
“One of the justifications for buying this property in the first place was a way of preserving open space,” Trubey said. “These zoning designations ensure that no high-density building would ever occur on this property.”
Trubey said a sale could fetch an estimated $10 million that could be used for projects that would benefit all .
At the meeting, the board dispelled rumors that the funds would be used to pay for the $8 million RSF Golf Club clubhouse renovation. Should the board go forward, the lot split, community vote and sale would likely be a lengthy process while the clubhouse restaurant renovation is already underway—the Association board has approved utilizing $1.5 million in general services funding before seeking formal approval for a bank loan to finance the rest of the project later this year.
Overall the board was in favor of getting more information on this split and sale option.
“It’s something that I think is worth discussing,” said Director Scott Thurman. “To me, it was important that anything done there preserves the adobe. I’ve always been opposed to spending any Association funds on the equestrian facility just because it doesn’t very many .”
Director David Gamboa said he looked at the subdivision option as somewhat of an “optimization of the original purchase,” keeping the adobe and creating large equestrian lots that would maintain that “jewel” of open space between Via de la Valle and Via de Santa Fe.
The future use of Osuna has been a board focus for the last year. The Osuna Committee has also been generating ideas like horsekeeping upgrades, a multi-use community barn and a restoration of the adobe that would include adding an educational component. At the March board meeting, some spoke out against selling off any part of what they consider to be of one of the most culturally significant landscapes in San Diego.
Historian Vonn Marie May has credited the Association with saving the Osuna adobe twice: Once in 1924 when the adobe had fallen into disrepair and the Santa Fe Land Improvement Company tapped architect Lilian Rice to remodel the home, and the second time over 80 years later when the Association purchased the property. At a talk at the RSF Historical Society last year, she stressed the importance of preserving the adobe’s historical setting, as just those 25 acres remain of Juan María Osuna’s original 8,824-acre grant from 1836.
Whatever direction the board and community decides to go, for now the Association still owns the property and is responsible for maintaining it. While the needed equestrian facility upgrades would require a large capital investment, Albrecht said the goal is to keep the ranch looking nice, conservatively using Osuna funds for projects like power washing and painting the barn, repairing fences and adding new interior rubber flooring.
Earlier in the meeting, the board approved a $2,500 expenditure for the fabrication of a new decorative sign for the main barn. Brought forward by Vice President Jeff Simmons, the sign would incorporate the Osuna brand used on cattle back in the 1800s, a logo comprised of three half-circles. One of the historic iron brands can be seen on display at the historical society.
