More Than 800 Votes Cast for New RB Welcome Sign

More than 800 votes were cast to decide which of three design concepts will be used to create the new Rancho Bernardo welcome sign. The results are expected to be released in the next few days.

Between Jan. 12 and Feb. 11, residents could vote online at RefreshRB.com for one of three design concepts created from community suggestions. The project is a collaboration between the all-volunteer Refresh RB committee, the city Maintenance Assessment District, Councilman Carl DeMaio's office and the San Diego North Chamber of Commerce.

The previous sign—on Rancho Bernardo Road near Bernardo Center Drive—was destroyed by a motorist last year. An insurance settlement of about $45,000 will be used to cover the costs of the sign.

The councilman's office hopes to meet with the Refresh RB committee in the next few days to discuss the results before a public announcement is made, said Jack Straw, the RB community representative for DeMaio. The RB Planning Board meets Thursday and has included the sign as a discussion item on the agenda, but Straw said he isn't sure if the results will be released by then.

The winning design will then come before the RB Planning Board and RB Community Council in March for final approval, Straw said. What will happen if either group does not approve is unclear.

The design concept also may be used along the Bernardo Center Drive business corridor, but business leaders will make the decision and pay for the implementation.

A total of 824 votes were cast, Straw said. The Maintenance Assessment District will include the new sign in its budget for Fiscal Year 2012, which begins July 1, and put the project out to bid. In a best-case scenario, construction could begin by the end of the year, but that depends on a number of factors, including the timeline of the bid process and the finalization of the city's budget for the new fiscal year, Straw said.

Editor's Note: Feb. 23, 2011: A previous version of this story contained an incorrect final tally for the number of votes. The correct number is 824, not 806. A software glitch caused the incorrect figures inititally provided to Patch. The story has been updated to reflect the change.