Warner Springs Ranch Signs Stepner and Associates to Update Master Plan

Warner Springs Ranch Board of Directors has announced signing a $150,000 contract with planning consultants; Stepner and Associates to update the current ranch master plan. In a related action, the board also approved increasing the price of ownership shares at the rate of $500 per week until reaching a level more reflective of the current value of ranch holdings. The Stepner Group will provide all professional services necessary to update the existing county-approved Warner Springs Ranch Specific Plan.

The ranch resort is located on Highway 79, about 18 miles north of Santa Ysabel. Its facilities include an 18-hole championship golf course, 250-room resort, hot springs, an airport, equestrian facilities and two restaurants.

The current specific plan for the ranch was approved in 1983. Phase I of the plan was constructed and approved at that time and consists of the resort facilities that are in place today (visit www.warner springs.com for information regarding the resort). Phase II of the plan was never completed by the developer and is now owned by the 1,400 members of the association. The existing plan for phase II might be characterized as a traditional golf course development, with the majority of the 685 planned residences clustered around the golf course. Although some changes may be necessary in the resort area, it is anticipated that extensive modification of the phase II residential scheme will be the central focus of the updated plan.

The consultant is tasked to perform a thorough review of the existing plans, documents and studies, then to meet with the owners of Warner Springs Ranch, local residents and Los Coyotes Band of Indians and the Pala Band of Mission Indians to develop a vision statement, design options and finally to present a plan to be voted on and approved by a majority vote of the ranch owners.

This project will provide the selected consultant planners an opportunity of designing a community from the perspective of the user group and the surrounding community, rather than the "highest and best use" perspective of the developer. Although the final design must meet financial goals to be developed during the study process, the designers will be asked to balance the goal of maintaining the area's basic character and natural resources so that owners and the public may continue to enjoy the facilities as a nature retreat and reminder of the area's ancestral heritage.

The planners have been hired to deliver a plan that will preserve the historical and ancestral heritage of the ranch, maintain the natural biological and topographical characteristics of the land, be approved by a majority of the owners, and represent a project that will be saleable to prospective developers.

The Stepner Group will work closely with county planners during the study. The completed master plan will include preliminary environmental, cultural, infrastructure and marketing evaluations. The study should be completed within four to six months. After approval by the owners, it is expected that the area identified for development will be offered for sale to developers interested in completing the entitlement process and constructing the planned structures.