Welcome Sign Debate Will Come Down to a Runoff

The new design for Rancho Bernardo's welcome sign will be decided by a runoff between one contemporary and one traditional option, it was decided Tuesday.

Design Concept C, which received the most votes during what was supposed to be the final vote last month, will be put up against a contemporary design still being completed, committee members said. Concept C, which was handrawn, will be digitally enhanced before the runoff, members said.

The decision came at a meeting of the advisory Refresh RB Committee composed of community members and representatives from the office of Councilman Carl DeMaio, who represents Rancho Bernardo in District 5.

Rancho Bernardo Patch arrived before the start of the meeting but was barred from attending. Committee members did not want the media present because of the controversy that erupted in recent weeks after voting results were revealed, said Jack Straw, the community representative for RB from DeMaio's office, and Felipe Monroig, DeMaio's chief of staff.

It does not appear that the group—an advisory body—is subject to Open Meetings rules, but media had been allowed at a previous meeting.

After the meeting, Straw said the new vote will be set for March 24 through April 7 at RefreshRB.com and whichever option receives the most votes will be the winner. The selected design will then go before the RB Planning Board and RB Community Council for final approval before being submitted to the Maintenance Assessment District for implementation.

The final design may be modified from the voted-on choice.

But RB's Maintenance Assessment District Committee objects to the runoff, as have several community members. The previous vote, which ended with the traditional Concept C receiving 37 percent of the vote, just 30 more votes than contemporary Concept B, was considered inconclusive by the Refresh RB Committee.

"We believe that the survey results, both the recent survey and the one conducted in December, should be accepted at face value," the MAD committee said in a statement provided to Patch. "By rejecting the survey results this group has created a controversy that would not exist if it had simply announced the results, as it should have.

"Another survey is unnecessary and undesirable."

The statement goes on to say that it is unfair to those who voted to have the rules changed and have another survey conducted.

It does not appear that the group has agreed on a strategy to figure out the winner should the runoff vote be just as close, or closer, than last month's vote which was considered inconclusive. But Straw said the committee hopes that with just two designs in the runoff, the results will prove more reflective of what the community wants.