Answers to concerns and questions that have been raised.
A click on a question will take you to the answer below.
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Will the lighting requirements violate the Dark Skies initiatives?
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What will the visual effects be on the rural character of the area
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Will approving this project lead to approvals for other projects
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Who are the people behind RSF Friends of Retirement and why?
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Do RSF Friends of Retirement or its supporters have any financial ties to the Silvergate developers?
The answers are based on research from public records and a conversation with the project developer. if you think we got something wrong, please, let us know.
The project will not include low-income housing
The project does not include low-income housing, and is not subject to requirements to allocate any of its units to be low-income housing.
There is a distinction between two types of developments:
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Senior Living, a community where a licensed operator provides services, such as meals and cleaning to its members, like Silvergate RSF
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Senior Housing, which is a housing development, where the residents are required to be 55 or older.
While a senior housing development could be subject to a local government requirement to include a percentage of low-income housing units, there is no such requirement for the Silvergate RSF project. And it will not include any. Previously proposed projects were housing projects and were therefore subject to an entirely different set of regulations.
The project will follow all Dark Skies rules of the Covenant and the County
There are no minimum “commercial lighting” requirements that would be applicable for the senior living facility. The developer will comply with all the same restrictions as the other residents of the Covenant. This will be assured by the Art Jury process.
There will not be noisy ambulances
Data from operations at Silvergate Rancho Bernardo shows only a few medical transports per month.
Silvergate RSF will have only half as many memory care residents, as RB, which means an even lower anticipated need. The drive from the fire station is only a few minutes, all on quiet residential roads and the vehicles rarely use sirens in a residential neighborhood.
A fact-based study underway about traffic increase
Adding an assisted living community will obviously increase traffic in the area. Rather than discuss whether this is significant or will cause congestion, it is better to do a small study about the traffic patterns on Via de la Valle and Calzada de Bosque and then, based on this real data and number of residents and personnel, estimate the actual effect.
We have started such a study and will update this fact sheet once we have results.
Only a small corner of the site overlaps a flood zone
A quick check of the public Sandag database confirms that 90% (about 27 of the 30 acres have a classification “Flood Zone X”, which is the best level (protected from a 500-year flood, and does not need flood insurance). The project plans include handling the small area that needs control measures.
Studies done by the developer show that there will be more than an adequate buffer layer above the ground water table below the planned one level underground parking facility.
Buffer zones and low building height reduce visual effects on the rural character
The landscape design includes a grove and walking paths among trees and shrubs around the entire property. The setbacks, required by County ordnance and Covenant, will be 82 feet along Via de la Valle and 60 feet on Calzada del Bosque. That provides lots of space for screening vegetation which will be developed guided by the Covenant rules and supervised by the Art Jury. There are some current pictures and renderings of the proposed new buildings here on the page about Silvergate RSF. More than half of the site, the entire side facing Calzada de Bosque, will have only single-story buildings nestled behind and among trees. The tallest structures on the site will be two stories, no higher than the existing houses on adjacent lots, and they are all in the back of the property.
Approving this project will not lead to approvals for other projects
There should not be any concern that allowing this project will open the floodgates and make it easier to obtain approvals for other sites. This is because of the site's rare classification as "Residential Class C", which allows buildings with a common entrance to more than one residence. This is the only substantial unbuilt area with Class C.
Additionally, the Board will consider each proposed project based on both the benefit it brings to the Association members and its overall effect on the community. We can, and should, trust that the Board will carry out its work carefully and look at all the facts of each project.
The people behind RSF Friends of Retirement
RSF Friends of Retirement is an informal group of RSF Covenant members who wish to have better local alternatives for retirement living in their older years and who believe the Silvergate project will bring many benefits to the community at large. You can reach us by sending us a question using this link or by sending us an email at RSFfriendsofRetirement@gmail.com.
No financial ties to the developer
There is no financial relationships or affiliation between any of the people behind RSF Friends of Retirement and the Silvergate RSF project developer. This question came up in a RSF Board meeting and was answered clearly by the CEO of AmeriCare Health & Retirement, the owner of the project site . You can read a transcript of his his remarks to the RSF Board here.