RANCHO SANTA FE — On Sept. 18 a special meeting will take place at the Garden Club to determine whether members of the Association want to vote to modify the Association Bylaws. The issue at hand concerns future attempts to study incorporation of the Ranch. A change in the bylaws would require the membership to vote to authorize money and staff time spent to pursue the study of incorporation.

To call a special meeting, a petition with signatures of at least 100 voting members of the Association was required. The Committee to Preserve Country Living, or CPCL, a local group of association members against incorporation, spearheaded the petition and quickly gathered 165 signatures. The petition was submitted to the Association and according to Association Manager Pete Smith, those signatures were verified.

The recent attempt to study incorporation cost more than $85,000. The CPCL proposes that in the future the membership vote to determine whether there is sufficient interest to justify the expenditure of such funds. Such a vote, however, would require a change to the Association Bylaws.

At the Sept. 18 meeting, the only action that can take place is to approve a communitywide election to decide the proposed action. A quorum of 75 voting members is required and a simple majority of the voting members present is enough to approve the ballot.

Although the effort by the CPCL is an attempt to reduce costs, even a special election to change the bylaws comes at a price. A special meeting, vote and general election cost approximately $13,500. If the amendment is approved, a reprint of the bylaws costs approximately $1,500. According to Manager Pete Smith, posting the changed bylaw on the Web could reduce the cost of a reprint. A full reprint of the bylaws would be given only when requested.

Association member and former board President Bill Hinchy represented the CPCL and submitted the petition to the Association board. “I think this is a positive step,” Hinchy said during a phone interview. “It will give the future boards a chance to step back and allow the membership to vote to see if there is sufficient interest to incorporate.”

According to Hinchy, several things were learned from the last attempt to incorporate. First, he said should there be future attempts to incorporate, it will have to encompass more than just the Covenant. Hinchy said that surrounding communities and areas will also be included because there isn’t the population base and cash flow in the Covenant to justify exclusive incorporation. Fairbanks Ranch, Morgan Run, Whispering Palms and other areas will also be considered by the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, the regulatory agency responsible for these decisions.

Another lesson learned, according to Hinchy, was that the majority of people in the Covenant are satisfied with the lifestyle and are not willing to change what is already in place.

That lesson will be put to a test when Association members convene Sept. 18. Should the vote to approve a general election move forward, ballots will go out to membership Oct. 13. Members will have 30 days to respond and ballots will be counted Nov. 18. Bruce Bishop will once again serve as the election inspector.