Lago Lindo meets El Montevideo on a gently sloping, rectangular parcel of a little more than four acres. It holds one single-family estate, a guest house and a citrus grove. The plans submitted for it would replace the estate and guest house with two lots, each with its own single-family home and ADU.
According to an update the Rancho Santa Fe Post added to its commentary on the application, the Rancho Santa Fe Association board voted 6–1 on August 6, 2026 to grant a variance for the split. Director Jeff Simmons cast the only no vote.
For anyone weighing a Covenant address against other estate areas in North County, that vote shows where the Covenant's low density actually comes from. Large lots here aren't guaranteed by Sacramento or by the County of San Diego. They last as long as a private board keeps enforcing its minimums, and its 2026 decisions show how much rests on those votes.
Two Readings of One Old Deed
The Lago Lindo application came down to two documents that point in different directions. The RSF Post reported that the case rested on a 1930 deed clause limiting the property to "not to exceed five building sites." The applicant and the Association's Building Department read that clause as permission for five single-family homes. A later Covenant regulation sets a 2.86-acre minimum for single-family lots in that zone.
Kelli Hillard, the Post's editor and a former Art Jury member, wrote that the Association had historically denied lot splits that created undersized lots unless the parcel had unusual features, such as an irregular shape or physical limits that made it hard to build on. She described this parcel as having neither. That is her view as a commentator, not the board's stated findings. Still, the vote shows what a buyer is really relying on. A deed written almost a century ago can be read in more than one way, and the board decides which reading wins.
The minimum lot size isn't one number across the whole Ranch. Chapter 60 of the Association's subdivision regulation lists 2.86 net acres for Residence Area 1. The minimum that applies to any given lot depends on where the property sits on the map and on its Covenant or acceptance agreement. Two estates a few hundred yards apart can face different thresholds.
A County Yes Is Only Half an Approval
Inside the Covenant, a land-use decision has to clear two separate authorities. Chapter 60 says outright that "approval of a subdivision by the County of San Diego does not constitute approval of a Subdivision by the Association."
| Decision | Public authority | Association authority |
|---|---|---|
| Splitting a lot | County subdivision approval | Art Jury review and recommendation, then a public hearing and decision by the Board |
| Building an ADU | County PDS building permit for unincorporated areas | Art Jury review of the plans |
| Minimum lot size | County zoning | Regulatory Code Chapter 60, which varies by mapped area |
The Association's Regulatory Code, last amended in August 2025, applies to property bound by the Covenant and states that its rules bind owners. Regulating how land is divided is one of its stated purposes. This second layer is what Covenant buyers are paying for. It is also a layer that can grant exceptions to its own rules, which is exactly what a variance is.
Sacramento Narrowed the Old Exemption
For several years, state law added a backstop. The board's discretion has carried more weight since that backstop shrank.
- September 16, 2021. SB 9 was approved by the Governor. It allowed two-unit projects and urban lot splits across much of California but excluded property within a historic district or on a historic listing. Rancho Santa Fe benefited from that historic-district exclusion.
- October 10, 2025. AB 1061 was approved and filed. Instead of excluding whole districts, it excludes two-unit projects only where the parcel holds a contributing structure in a recognized district or is individually listed or designated. Lot splits are excluded only for landmark status or for specified demolition or alteration of historic structures.
- January 1, 2026. AB 1061 took effect, according to a public-law update from Burke, Williams & Sorensen. The firm describes the change as moving eligibility to parcel-specific criteria.
Hillard's August commentary argues that even with Sacramento's protections narrowed, the Protective Covenant and Regulatory Code still give the Association real authority over land use. In her framing, the open question is whether the board will use it. A 2021 Association letter to members describing the old historic-district exemption reflects the law as it stood before AB 1061. It isn't a current summary.
The variance on Lago Lindo was granted under the Association's own process, after AB 1061 took effect, by a board that could have kept the 2.86-acre minimum.
ADUs Were the First Step Toward More Density
Lot splits are the visible change. ADUs have been adding density more quietly for longer. Hillard wrote that ADUs have become standard on new Covenant homes. She also wrote that the Art Jury has approved them on lots that didn't meet Covenant standards, including units closer to neighboring property lines and on slopes once treated as unbuildable.
The Association has less room to refuse ADUs than it has with lot splits. California Civil Code §4751 voids any covenant or governing-document provision that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts a qualifying ADU or junior ADU. Reasonable restrictions are still allowed. So state law limits the Association's control over ADUs, while lot-split decisions stay with the board.
Pending cases show how often small requests come through. San Dieguito Planning Group minutes from March 12, 2026 list a 1,360-square-foot ADU and garage on Los Arboles that needed a front-setback variance and was awaiting Art Jury review. The item was still listed as pending Art Jury review in the August 13 minutes and was continued to September. One setback request is ordinary. A steady series of them is how a neighborhood's density changes without any single large decision.
The Same Lever on a Larger Project
The variance process also governs the largest project now in review. Silvergate, a senior living proposal for a long-vacant 30-acre site on Calzada del Bosque, calls for 148 rental units, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The paper reported that the project has reached the final review phase of the Art Jury process, following a 5–0 Art Jury vote on August 25, 2026 approving the phase-two review of its landscape and lighting plans. A variance is still needed because the Regulatory Code sets minimum sizes for apartments and memory care units.
The Union-Tribune also reported the notice steps from Building Commissioner Joel Levanetz. Before the final review, a notice of the variance hearing will be posted on the Association bulletin board and mailed to Covenant owners within 500 feet of the property. The County's San Dieguito Planning Group listed Silvergate's pre-application for discussion at its October 8 meeting.
The 500-foot notice radius affects buyers directly. An owner who receives a hearing notice can comment. A buyer still in escrow on a nearby property may not receive one.
In an April commentary, Hillard wrote that "word around town" was that the Association's new motto is "A Path to Yes." Whether you read that phrase as a good or bad sign, the Lago Lindo vote and the Silvergate review show the board and the Art Jury moving applications forward.
What This Changes for a Covenant Buyer
A Covenant buyer is taking on two kinds of exposure. The first is the familiar one: the house, the lot and the Association's design standards. The second is less obvious. It is the development potential of every neighboring parcel, which depends on how the board reads old deeds, minimum lot sizes and variance requests.
That second exposure can be researched. The Regulatory Code and Chapter 60 are public PDFs. The San Dieguito Planning Group publishes agendas and minutes that list pending Covenant cases by street. Board meetings take place at the Association offices on Avenida de Acacias, and before the August 6 vote the RSF Post noted that members could attend or send comments to [email protected]. For sellers, the same rules can work the other way. A larger parcel's development potential now depends partly on a process the board has recently shown it will use.
This post is general information, not legal advice. Before relying on any lot split, ADU or variance question, confirm how these rules apply to a specific parcel with a qualified real estate attorney and the Association's Building Department.
FAQ
Does County approval of a lot split settle the matter inside the Covenant? No. Chapter 60 says County subdivision approval is not Association approval. The Association runs its own process, with Art Jury review and a public hearing and decision by the Board.
Is Rancho Santa Fe still exempt from SB 9? Not across the whole district. Since AB 1061 took effect on January 1, 2026, the historic exclusions apply parcel by parcel and structure by structure rather than to entire historic districts.
Can the Association prohibit ADUs? Civil Code §4751 voids governing-document provisions that effectively prohibit or unreasonably restrict qualifying ADUs. Reasonable restrictions are still allowed.
If you're considering a Covenant property and want to know which nearby parcels are large enough to split, or what recent variance decisions could mean for a home you plan to sell, Chris Martin can walk you through the parcel maps and pending cases before you commit. Start with a free home valuation that accounts for how the board has been ruling.
