The Coast News Group
Kenneth Markstein will succeed Fred Wasserman as president of the Rancho Santa Fe Association board. Photo by Christina Macone-Greene
CommunityRancho Santa Fe

Residents elect three to RSF Association board

RANCHO SANTA FE — Rancho Santa Fe Covenant residents have elected three new directors to serve on the Rancho Santa Fe Association Board. Filling the outgoing board seats of President Kenneth Markstein, Vice President Allen Finkelson and Treasurer Janet Danola are Bill Strong, Bill Weber and Laurel Lemarié.

Ballots were counted during the June 11 monthly meeting revealing that out of the four candidates vying for a spot on the board, Weber received 750 votes, Strong came in at 690 and Lemarié at 668.

Weber has volunteered in a variety of ways in the Covenant such as serving on the Rancho Santa Fe Finance Committee, as well as having posts on the Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club’s Renovation Committee, Long-Range Planning Committee and Board of Governors. 

Strong served on the Association’s board of directors from 2001 to 2004. Additionally, he held a seat on the Association’s Finance Committee. 

A Covenant resident since 1976, Lemarié, was publicly elected to the San Dieguito Planning Group and RSF Community Services District. She’s also been involved in the RSF Garden Club, RSF Trail Committee, RSF Senior Center, RSF Community Concert and Beach & Country Guild.

At the start of the meeting, Markstein thanked his wife, the community, and Association staff for their support over the last three years.

“I wanted to take the chance to thank our board members for doing a wonderful job and for all the work that they put in,” he said, adding how he often receives community thanks for the work that the entire board does.

Board director Sharon Ruhnau expressed her thanks to the board for both their guidance and sound reasoning.

Director Stephen Dunn also thanked outgoing board members.

“Allen, Ken, and Janet have made huge changes to the Covenant,” Dunn said.

These changes included items such as RSF Connect, addressing the high water rates, as well as the Covenant Design Review Committee.

Before the ballot count, Parliamentarian Bruce Bishop said a few words thanking the Association and its staff members for doing a great job in the election process.

“Rancho Santa Fe does it right — the protocol that we use is not developed by the board (Rancho Santa Fe Association Board) or me — the process is described by the state legislature of Davis-Stirling,” Bishop said. “The law tells us what we need to do — the process is prescribed, and there is no flexibility, and Rancho Santa Fe does it correctly.”

The tabulation process took about two hours.

In addition to electing new board members, Covenant residents passed a new bylaw revision on density developments with 215 opposed and 734 in favor of the change. The bylaw targets high-density projects by implementing a three-tier process which includes after a Covenant Design Review Committee and RSF Association board approval, the project plan then goes out to a community-wide vote within the historic Covenant which consists of nearly 10 square miles. A minimum two-thirds vote by the community would be required for the high-density project approval.

Weber, Strong, and Lemarié will start their new board positions at the next monthly board meeting on July 2.