Could This Be the New Welcome Sign?

A new Rancho Bernardo welcome sign design is in the final stages of approval after multiple committees, votes, polls, and even a temporary decision to walk away from the process.

A six-member joint committee of the Rancho Bernardo Planning Board and Community Council met several times over the past few months to craft a new design that built upon the ideas and suggestions of the community during past polls and votes since the original sign was destroyed in late 2009.

"We really wanted to [design] something traditional but refreshed," said Ed Muna, a Community Council member who was part of the joint committee and also heads the city's Maintenance and Assesment District committee for RB.

Not shown in this digital rendering of the design—which was created by Planning Board member John Woods, who said he has been a licensed architect for 20 years—are rod iron rings to be added along the sides of the sign in a nod to old RB when people may have needed somewhere to tie up their horses, Muna said.

The design must be approved by the Planning Board and Community Council before heading to the city for construction.

So what do you think? Is this the sign you'd like to see represent Rancho Bernardo? 

Below you'll find the joint committee's vision statement and concept behind this design. You can also vote in Patch's informal poll about the design and see images of the proposed materials in the gallery above. See a gallery of past design ideas .

Vision

The goal of the resident group was to bring the community a welcome sign that was reflective of the heritage of Rancho Bernardo. It needed to have a fresh look, but not be a hostage to current trends. We wanted a sign that could have been here from the 1960's but still looked good in 2012. The goal was to create a sign that one could imagine existed before the roads, yet stood the test of time. It needed to be honest in its use of material and structure, yet simple in its presentation.

Concept

The concept was to have a sign that used material that would have been available when Rancho Bernardo was a working rancho. The materials at hand would have been stacked field stone, white washed adobe brick and wrought iron metal. The sign would have been simple, without added artifacts of elements.

The sign consists of slightly tapered columns at each side faced with stacked stone, no mortar. The sign face itself is to consist of an elastomeric stucco, which will allow the sign face to adjust to temperature variations. The lettering will consist of wrought iron raised of the sign face. The sign will be capped with a natural stone to provide material termination and wear ability from the elements.

The materials used were selected to emulate the materials that would have been available in the past. The faced stone for the stacked field stone; the stucco for the white washed adobe brick; and the wrought iron letters.

The sign does not have any additional elements save for the RB Logo and the words 'Rancho Bernardo'. It was important that the sign have no artificial elements.

The sign will have a flood light on the Logo and a strip light on 'Rancho Bernardo'. With the lettering raised off the face this will let the lighting create shadow lines.

In summation the sign and its use of materials with the RB logo and 'Rancho Bernardo' lettering along with its straight forward, uncomplicated presentation, creates the interest and drama for our community's welcome sign.

[Editor's Note: This is an informal, unscientific poll for Patch that has no bearing on the community groups' decision.]