[Updated] Contemporary Design Tops Welcome Sign Vote, But There's a Twist

The Refresh RB Committee will recommend a contemporary design for the community's new welcome sign, but it is not the design that residents voted on, it was announced Friday.

The committee will recommend a "compromise" design that blends traditional and contemporary design elements, according to an email. A picture is attached to this story.

There were about 6,479 votes cast in a two-week runoff and the contemporary option won over the traditional choice by about 1,000 votes, according to an email from the committee to the Rancho Bernardo Community Council. Patch spoke with some committee members who said they could not or declined to provide or confirm the specific vote total.

The committee had said media was not permitted to attend the meeting.

It appears that the runoff vote was tainted by individuals voting multiple times, when only one vote per person was permitted, so the committee's recommendation is not based on the runoff results, said Larry McIntyre, head of the Rancho Bernardo Business Association and a committee member. McIntyre said it was a unanimous decision to go with a contemporary choice, as committee members felt it was the best choice for RB.

However, it was not clear when speaking with McIntyre whether he was referring to the contemporary choice that received the most votes, or the new design. McIntyre could not immediately be reached to clarify. Representatives from Councilman Carl DeMaio's office did not respond to requests for comment on Friday. DeMaio's office has helped coordinate the welcome sign vote.

If indeed a new design has been selected by the committee, it would be the fifth design that has been part of the process, and the latest twist in what has become an unexpectedly complicated decision.

In February, an initial round of voting was held, and three design choices were under consideration. Two were contemporary and the third was more traditional. After a month and more than 800 votes, the traditional sign emerged as the front-runner. However, the committee believed the vote was inconclusive because only 30 votes separated the traditional sign from one of the contemporary choices.

Despite objections from many in the community, the committee decided to hold a runoff vote between the traditional sign and a new contemporary sign. That runoff, held over the past two weeks, ended Thursday. It was revealed, however, that people could vote multiple times by clearing the cookies in their browser. The committee had said the survey was designed to only allow one vote per computer. The 6,400-plus votes in the runoff, which was half as long as the first round of voting, represent nearly eight times more votes cast than in the initial vote.

The huge jump in the vote tally indicated that many people were voting repeatedly—a "tainted" vote in the eyes of some people. But the notion of introducing a new design was not mentioned publicly prior to the runoff. Committee members only said that whichever design received the most votes would be the one recommended.

The next steps in the process are for the recommended design to go before the RB Community Council and Planning Board for final approval, before heading to the city of San Diego's Maintenance Assessment District for approval and implementation.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated from its original version with new information.

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