I was at the Golf Club’s Golf Board of Governors meet-the-candidates forum last night and Pat Newmark and I were sitting down about to chat. She looked at me with a penetrating stare and said, “Phil, I agree with a lot of what you say, but I don’t think you’re right about uplights”.
Now, I don’t know if you’ve met Pat before, but when she says something like that, in her proper schoolmarm voice, you listen. So I sat up a little bit straighter and she continued, “Have you been to La Quinta in the desert, and seen those palm trees lit up?”.
Wups! Yes, I knew exactly what she meant. La Quinta is full of stately huge towering palms and they are very nice, for a city. But I fully agreed with Pat, it isn’t at all appropriate for Rancho Santa Fe.
So I owe Pat a debt of gratitude for making me realize that some people might have misunderstood my stance on uplighting.
What I meant was, low lumen lights (unlike lights that light up a tall palm which are very powerful), lighting up short decorative bushes and trees. For example:
The two path lights on the left are about 20″ tall, and the two uplit palms on the right are about 4′ and 5′ in height. This is a nice low light-intensity view for what otherwise would be pitch black darkness.
The new proposed lighting regulation limits all outdoor lighting to outputting a maximum of 500 lumens per fixture. For reference, the path lights above were 425 lumens and the uplights were 400 lumens (LEDs). I think 500 lumens is a reasonable limit for landscape lighting, although I also think 500 lumens is a bit low for lights attached to a house. This fixture, for instance outputs about 900 lumens:
By the new regulation’s own conversion chart, a 500 lumen light is equivalent to a 31 Watt incandescent light, which is pretty dim. So, maybe some tweaking between what is allowed for landscape lighting and what can be allowed for outdoor lighting attached to a house is needed.
Anyways, I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t misunderstood about uplighting. As I mentioned in my own candidates forum, regulating lighting is complex and the devil is indeed in the details.
After a cordial chat, I think Pat and I agreed on pretty much everything, and, for what it’s worth, I’ll be voting for Pat Newmark for Golf Board of Governors. If I’m elected in my election, I hope to be working alongside Pat and others to resolve the important issues between the Golf Club and the Association at large.
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Landscape Uplighting - Closed.
Board Communication - Closed.
Hardie Board - Closed.
Restaurant Upgrade - Closed.
Exterior Lighting - Closed.
The Water Conservation Garden has nearly six acres of displays that showcase water conservation through a series of beautiful, themed gardens, such as a native plant garden and a vegetable garden, as well as how-to displays such as mulch and irrigation exhibits. The Garden also features a native butterfly pavilion that is open spring and summer each year. The RSF Garden Club will have the special treat of viewing the butterfly release during our tour!
IMPORTANT: Meet in the parking lot adjacent to the Secret Garden in RSF at 9:15 am. (17025 Avenida de Acacias, RSF). We will be carpooling to The Water Conservation Garden since it is in East County, a 45 to 60-minute drive from RSF. You may drive on your own if you choose. When you register for this event, please indicate if you want to carpool or drive on your own.
For more information, address and driving directions, and to view photos of The Water Conservation Garden, click on the following link: Visit the Conservation Garden
To register, click here. Fee: Members – No Charge Guests – $20
If you have any questions, please contact Natalie Kaczur at natalie@rsfgardenclub.org or at 858.951.1885.
To schedule your fitting please click on the link below
All fittings are by appointment via the online scheduler.
If you have any questions contact the Golf Shop at (858) 756-3094
Join the Rancho Santa Fe Rotary Club on Sunday, October 9th, 2022 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM in the heart of the Ranch and stroll the historic and iconic grounds of The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe. Sample fine wines, beverages, and taste small bites from local restaurants.
The 2022 Taste of Rancho Santa Fe through the Rancho Santa Fe Rotary Foundation supports several local nonprofits with missions that align with that of Rotary International: to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill and peace through its fellowship of business, professional and community leaders.
Come and learn more about the Rancho Santa Fe Rotary Club and support some very worthy causes by participating in this amazing fundraising event!
The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe 5951 Linea Del Cielo Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
Click here to learn more
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